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Ten Basic Checkmates to Know

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4 of 10

Queen and Bishop

The bishop can play a supporting role for a queen similar to that of the knight in the previous example. While the queen delivers the checkmate, the bishop can support the queen from afar.

In the diagram above, White has a rook guarding the first rank, making a back rank mate impossible at the moment. However, both of Black's pieces are stationed on the long a8-h1 diagonal, which should give us a clue as to how we might attack the White king.

Sure enough, the checkmating move is Qxg2++. The king is trapped, and cannot attack the queen because it is defended by the bishop.

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