Epaulette matte
The epaulette mate is a mate motif in chess , in which the king - flanked by his own pieces that take away important escape areas - is mated. The name of the motif is derived from the epaulettes and underlines the similarity of the figures next to the king with shoulder boards.
Example 1: Queen mates
a | b | c | d | e | f | G | H | ||
8th | 8th | ||||||||
7th | 7th | ||||||||
6th | 6th | ||||||||
5 | 5 | ||||||||
4th | 4th | ||||||||
3 | 3 | ||||||||
2 | 2 | ||||||||
1 | 1 | ||||||||
a | b | c | d | e | f | G | H |
Example 2: Rook mates
a | b | c | d | e | f | G | H | ||
8th | 8th | ||||||||
7th | 7th | ||||||||
6th | 6th | ||||||||
5 | 5 | ||||||||
4th | 4th | ||||||||
3 | 3 | ||||||||
2 | 2 | ||||||||
1 | 1 | ||||||||
a | b | c | d | e | f | G | H |
Example 3: Epaulette matt in the middle of the board
a | b | c | d | e | f | G | H | ||
8th | 8th | ||||||||
7th | 7th | ||||||||
6th | 6th | ||||||||
5 | 5 | ||||||||
4th | 4th | ||||||||
3 | 3 | ||||||||
2 | 2 | ||||||||
1 | 1 | ||||||||
a | b | c | d | e | f | G | H |
Example 4: dovetail
a | b | c | d | e | f | G | H | ||
8th | 8th | ||||||||
7th | 7th | ||||||||
6th | 6th | ||||||||
5 | 5 | ||||||||
4th | 4th | ||||||||
3 | 3 | ||||||||
2 | 2 | ||||||||
1 | 1 | ||||||||
a | b | c | d | e | f | G | H |
This is a similar matte image to Example 1, but strictly speaking is not an epaulette matte . This picture is called the swallowtail .
Game examples
- Van Wely – Morosewitsch, Wijk aan Zee 2001 . Loek van Wely gets it wrong and can not avoid an epaulette mat against Alexander Morosewitsch .
- Carlsen – Ernst, Wijk aan Zee 2004 . The twelve-year-old Magnus Carlsen gives an unusual epaulette mat from the side against Sipke Ernst .