Opera mate puzzles
A rook gives mate on the back rank or a file, protected by a bishop, while the king's own pieces block its escape.
About opera mate puzzles
A rook gives mate on the back rank or a file, protected by a bishop, while the king's own pieces block its escape. Named after Morphy's famous game at the opera.
How to spot it
- The king is on its back rank next to its own pieces.
- A rook delivers the mate, protected by a bishop on a diagonal.
- A queen sacrifice often pulls a defender away first.
A common mistake
Delivering the rook check before the bishop covers the mating square.
A worked example
R
B
R
N
K
K
R
BBlack to move. White has just played Kh6. Find the best move.
Solution: 53... Rxh4+ 54. Rh5 Rxh5#
Rxh4+ checks the king and also attacks the bishop on b4, so your opponent has to answer the check. The last move is checkmate: the king has no safe square and nothing can block or capture. The idea: A rook gives mate on the back rank or a file, protected by a bishop, while the king's own pieces block its escape.
The highlighted squares show White's last move. This position is a different puzzle from the ones you start with above (980 rating).
Cats vs Dogs Chess: 3d chess with cats and dogs
Cats vs Dogs Chess is a 3D chess game with five computer levels, a pass-the-phone mode and a daily mate puzzle. Free in your browser.
Play Cats vs Dogs ChessMore chess puzzles
New to chess? See how each piece moves or play chess against the computer.
Questions
Why is it called the opera mate?
Paul Morphy won a famous game at an opera house in Paris in 1858 and finished with this pattern.
Where do these puzzles come from?
They are real puzzles from the Lichess puzzle database, which is free to use under the CC0 license. Each one was built from a real game and tested by many players. We picked well-rated ones with good popularity scores.
Are the puzzles free?
Yes. There is no signup, no limit and no ads on the puzzles. Your progress on this page is not saved after you leave.
What do the difficulty levels mean?
Beginner puzzles are rated under 1250, intermediate 1250 to 1749 and advanced 1750 and up, using the rating Lichess players earned on each puzzle.