Explanation

This checkmate pattern is named after the German chess player Carl Mayet, who lived in the 19th century.

Checkmate patterns are sometimes defined in different ways, because there is no official naming convention. Mayet's mate sometimes has the same definition as Opera mate. Both in opera mate and Mayet's mate, the king is checkmated with a rook protected by a bishop. In opera mate, the bishop also guards one or more escape squares, in Mayet's mate it does not.

Examples

White can deliver Mayet's mate with Re8#.
The rook is protected by the bishop on c6.

Sometimes other pieces can help:

White can deliver Mayet's mate with Re8#.
The rook is protected by the bishop on a4.
The queen is helping by pinning the rook on e7, and preventing the capture Rxe8.

Related patterns

In opera mate, a bishop protects the checkmating rook and also guards one or more escape squares.