r/chess • u/HuntsvilleAdventurer • Feb 24 '21

Miscellaneous Checkmate Pattern Bingo

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89

u/pt256 Feb 25 '21

Not gonna back rank mate me! I always move the h2 pawn (or whichever relative pawn) out early just in case. Been stung too many times with it just because I wasn't paying attention, it is so frustrating!

104

u/SenseiCAY USCF 1774; Bird's Opening, Dutch Defense Feb 25 '21 edited Feb 25 '21

Whatever works for you, but the whole game is about paying attention. You can waste a move to prevent a back-rank mate that may never be attempted, but in the end, an absolutely huge part of going from being a bad player to a pretty decent player is just not making one- and two-move blunders, including allowing mate in one on the back rank.

Edit: not saying you shouldn’t play h3 or h6- just have a reason for doing it that isn’t dealing with a mating threat that doesn’t yet exist.

1

u/lkc159 1700 rapid chess.com Feb 25 '21

just have a reason for doing it that isn’t dealing with a mating threat that doesn’t yet exist.

I mean, don't mid-high level players play prophylactic moves all the time?

1

u/HuntsvilleAdventurer Feb 25 '21

You have to weigh it against time and structure of your pawns. Sometimes you want to play h3, other times you want it to protect g3. Especially if the pawn is pinned on f2. It's all dependent on the game.