FoxyChess › Checkmates › Anastasia's Mate
Anastasia's Mate
A knight and a rook (or queen) trap the king on the edge of the board. The knight covers the escape squares in front of the king, the king's own pawn blocks the last one, and the rook delivers mate down the file.
How to spot it
Look for a knight that can land next to the castled king's pawn shield, with a rook or queen ready to swing onto the open edge file.
How it arises
It most often appears against a castled king when a knight reaches e7 (or e2) and the h-file opens. The pawn on g7 stays where it is and blocks its own king. A queen sacrifice on h7 to open the file is the usual way in.
A worked example
1.Ne7+ Kh8 2.Qxh7#. The knight covers g8 and g6, the pawn on g7 blocks the king, and the rook on h3 protects the queen.
How to defend against it
Keep a piece that can cover e7 and e2, and don't let the h-file open while an enemy knight is near your king. A pawn move like …h6 early can give the king an escape square on h7.
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