"A thorough understanding of the typical mating continuations makes the most complicated sacrificial combinations leading up to them not only not difficult, but almost a matter of course." – Siegbert Tarrasch

"Chess can also be beautiful." – Beth Harmon

What you will learn

In this course, you will learn to combine tactical motifs with checkmate ideas to force checkmate.

The final checkmate is often only the end of the story. First you may have to remove a defender, lure the king onto the wrong square, clear a line, prepare the attack with a quiet move, or force your opponent to block an escape square. That is where checkmate combinations begin.

If you want to understand how this course fits together with Checkmate Patterns and the higher checkmate-pattern levels, see our guide How to learn and practice checkmates with Puzzle Academy.

The following types of checkmate combinations are included:

Removing the defence

Your opponent appears to have defended against checkmate, but you can still win by removing a key defender.

Decoy

Use a sacrifice to lure the king to a square where it can be checkmated.

Clearance

Move one piece out of the way so another piece can deliver checkmate.

Opening a line

Force your opponent to capture in a way that opens a file, rank, or diagonal for the final attack.

Mating net

Prepare checkmate with a quiet move — a move with no check, capture, or promotion.

Discovered check and double check

Use the power of the discovered check or double check to force checkmate.

Blocking escape squares

Force your opponent to block one of the king’s own escape squares to prepare checkmate.

Checkmate combinations often include sacrifices, because once you are forcing checkmate, material no longer matters. That is one reason they are among the most beautiful moments in chess: tactical motifs, calculation, and attacking imagination all come together in one decisive sequence.

Examples

Here, a young Alexander Alekhine sacrificed his queen with 1...Qxf1+!.

The move does several jobs at once. It removes the rook on f1, which was shielding the king from the back-rank attack. It also decoys the king to f1 after the forced reply 2.Kxf1, and clears the way for the rook. Black then finishes with 2...Rd1#.

This is a classic checkmate combination: first you remove the defender and force the king onto the wrong square, and only then does the final checkmate become possible.

Black’s king is already in serious danger, surrounded by White’s pieces. The direct move 1.Rf7+? looks tempting, but it allows the king to escape with 1...Ke4.

White must prepare the checkmate first with the quiet move 1.f3!, guarding the escape square. Now Black has no real defence. For example, after 1...a1=Q, White has 2.Rf7#.

This is one of the most satisfying types of checkmate combination: the winning move is quiet, but it changes everything. Once you train these ideas, you begin to notice when one calm move is stronger than the most obvious check.

In the final game of the World Championship tiebreak, Magnus Carlsen was short on time but calculated superbly and found a fantastic finish that forced checkmate and retained his title. Carlsen played 1.Qh6+!!, and Karjakin resigned.

If 1...gxh6, the pawn blocks h6 and opens the seventh rank for 2.Rxf7#. If 1...Kxh6, the king is deflected away from protecting h8, and White has 2.Rh8#.

This is a wonderful example of checkmate combinations at their best: one forcing move creates two different mating ideas, and the opponent cannot stop either of them.

A note on the importance of calculation

Many checkmate combination puzzles offer several candidate moves that look promising — or several different replies by the opponent. Your growing knowledge of tactical motifs and attacking ideas will help you spot these possibilities, but you still have to calculate which one actually works.

Some candidate moves look beautiful but lead to nothing. Others fail because the opponent has a defence that is easy to miss. That is why calculation matters so much in this course.

When you calculate, always assume the opponent will find the best reply. A move is only truly good if it works against the strongest defence. In puzzles and in games, try to identify the most challenging response to your intended move and test your idea against it.

As the puzzles become more complex, it is normal to spend more time on them. Do not rush to play the first attractive move you see. Focus, take your time, and calculate each important variation to its conclusion. Then check again to see whether you have overlooked a defence, a stronger candidate move, or a detail in the final position.

Do not get discouraged if you do not see the solution immediately. This careful calculation process is exactly what helps you improve. And if you want to understand more about how calculation, checkmate patterns, and typical combinations fit together, take a look at How to learn and practice checkmates with Puzzle Academy.

Intended audience

You should have mastered Checkmate Patterns before starting Checkmate Combinations. The Puzzle Academy skill tree makes sure you have the required foundation before you attempt these combinations, so if you are reading this guide, you should be ready to begin.

The first Checkmate Combinations levels have an average rating of roughly 1200 to 1600, while the higher levels reach around 2000. If you want to score very highly on the advanced levels, Checkmate Combinations can remain useful practice far beyond that — up to international master strength.