Hook mate
A rook, a knight and a supporting pawn interlock like a hook to trap the king on the edge. The rook checks from right beside the king, the knight both defends the rook and covers the escape square, a pawn defends the knight, and the king's own pawn blocks the last flight.
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How it works
The king sits on h8 with only three squares to consider: g8, g7 and h7. The rook lands on h7 giving check; it is immune because the knight on f6 defends it, so Kxh7 is impossible. That same knight on f6 also covers g8, removing a flight. The third square, g7, is blocked by Black's own pawn – the "hook". The white pawn on g5 props up the knight, so the whole chain holds. Four squares, four jobs, no gaps – mate.
How to spot it
Look for it when the enemy king is castled and stuck on the edge behind its own pawns, with one pawn (here g7) jamming a key escape square – that pawn is your hook. If you can plant a knight on f6 (or its mirror) so it both eyes the corner-adjacent flight and guards the square next to the king, a rook swung onto the file or rank beside the king often finishes the job. Always check the knight is itself defended, usually by a pawn, so the mating net cannot be unpicked.
Key ideas
- The rook checks from an adjacent square but is shielded by the knight, so the king cannot capture it.
- The knight pulls double duty: defending the rook and covering a flight square.
- A friendly pawn defends the knight, anchoring the whole chain.
- The king's OWN pawn is the hook, blocking its final escape.
- Four pieces cover four squares with no overlap or gap – a tight, economical net.
- It usually strikes a king stuck on the edge behind its unmoved pawns.
Famous example
The hook mate is a standard textbook checkmate pattern (a knight-mate cousin of the smothered and Arabian mates) often seen in middlegame attacks once a defending pawn has fixed an escape square.