Damiano’s Mate is achieved involving a the combination of a pawn or Bishop with a Queen. This mate is similar to Anastasia’s Mate. that also controls the g6 square cutting off the King.
This checkmate was first discussed in a book written by Damiano all the back in 1512.
What is Damiano’s Mate?
Damiano’s Mate is a checkmate pattern that is given with the combination of a pawn or Bishop and a Queen with the Queen usually being on the open H-file. The pawn or Bishop is best placed on the g6 square preventing the enemy King from escaping.
Examples
Example 1
In this example, Black can’t prevent the mate from White. White’s Queen moves to the empty H-file. Black tries to advance their passed pawn but then White moves Qh7 giving mate. White’s pawn prevents the escape of Black’s King.
Example 2
This example is from Padro Damiano himself when he coined this checkmate in 1512.
I hope this guide on the back rank mate helped you. If you liked this post, you may also be interested in other checkmate patterns like Anastasia’s mate and the back rank mate.
