Opera mate
Also known as Opera house mate
The Opera mate is a back-rank finish where a rook gives mate on the eighth rank while a bishop, posted on the c1-h6 diagonal, both covers the king's flight square and protects the rook. Made famous by Morphy's queen sacrifice in the 1858 Opera Box game, it often follows a deflection that opens the file for the rook.
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How it works
The rook delivers check on d8, right next to the king on e8. The king has no escape: d7 lies on the rook's file; e7 is covered by the bishop on g5 (along g5-f6-e7); and f7 and f8 are blocked by Black's own pawn and bishop. The king cannot capture the rook either, because the same bishop guards d8 down the g5-d8 diagonal. The bishop thus does double duty - sealing a flight square and defending the mating rook.
How to spot it
Look for it when an enemy king is stuck on its back rank, hemmed in by its own pawns and pieces, while you have a rook that can reach the back rank and a bishop already eyeing the squares beside the king. If a defender is blocking your file, a forcing check or sacrifice that deflects it - like Morphy's Qb8+ - can clear the path so the rook crashes through with mate.
Key ideas
- A rook mates on the back rank, supported by a bishop on the diagonal.
- The bishop both guards the rook and covers the king's escape square.
- A deflecting check or sacrifice clears the file for the rook.
- The king is trapped by its own undeveloped pieces and pawns.
- Forcing, only-move replies make the combination unstoppable.
Famous example
Paul Morphy vs the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard, Paris Opera House, 1858 - Morphy finished with the famous queen sacrifice 16.Qb8+ Nxb8 17.Rd8#, giving the pattern its name.