Anastasia's mate
Also known as Anastasia's checkmate
A knight and rook trap the king against the edge of the board. The knight covers the two escape squares just off the side (here g8 and g6), and the rook swoops onto the h-file to deliver mate, leaving the king with nowhere to run.
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How it works
The black king is stuck on h7, on the edge of the board. The knight on e7 guards both g8 and g6 - the only squares that lead off the h-file. The pawn on g7 (Black's own) blocks that square. When the rook lands with Rh3+, it controls every square from h1 to h8, so h6 and h8 are covered too. The king cannot move, nothing can block between h3 and h7, and no black piece defends the rook - so it is checkmate.
How to spot it
Look for an enemy king pushed to the side of the board (the h-file or a-file) with a friendly pawn boxing it in on the g- or b-file. If you can plant a knight on e7 (or the mirror squares b7/e2/b2) to cover the two diagonal escape squares, the position is ripe. Then bring a rook or queen to the open file beside the king with check. It often appears after a king has castled and its g-pawn has advanced or vanished.
Key ideas
- Knight covers the two escape squares just off the edge (g8 and g6)
- King is trapped on the side, usually the h-file
- A pawn or piece blocks the king's last sideways escape
- The rook (or queen) delivers mate along the open file
- Look for it after kingside castling when the g-pawn has moved or fallen
Famous example
The pattern takes its name from a position printed in Wilhelm Heinse's 1803 novel "Anastasia und das Schachspiel". It is a staple of tactics training because the knight-and-rook coordination recurs in countless real games.