The Arabian mate is a checkmate where a knight and a rook trap the enemy king in a corner of the board. The rook gives check from the square right next to the king, and the knight both protects the rook and covers the king's last free square. Every puzzle on this page ends in an Arabian mate, comes from a real game and is close to your puzzle rating. Solving them moves the same rating as Puzzle Training.
Take a black king on h8 and a white knight on f6. From f6 the knight covers g8 and h7, two of the three squares next to the corner. The third square is g7. A white rook on h7 or on g8 finishes the job, and both are checkmate.
With the rook on h7, it gives check down the file, covers g7 along the seventh rank, and is protected by the knight, so the king cannot take it. With the rook on g8, it gives check along the back rank, covers g7 down the file, and is again protected by the knight, while h7 is covered by the knight too. The rook changes square; the knight on f6 stays the same.
First, the seventh rank. White has a rook on d7 and a knight on f6; Black has a king on h8 with a pawn on h7, and the g- and f-pawns are gone. 1.Rxh7 is checkmate. The rook takes the pawn with check, the knight defends it, g8 is covered by the knight and g7 by the rook.
Second, the open file. White has a rook on g1 and a knight on f6; Black has a king on h8 and a pawn on h7, with the g-file open. 1.Rg8 is checkmate. The rook checks along the eighth rank, the knight on f6 protects it, g7 is on the rook's file, and h7 is filled by Black's own pawn.
To see why the knight must be on f6, put it on e4 in the first position instead. Now 1.Rxh7+ is only a check: the king can capture the rook or step to g8.
The Arabian mate grows out of two common situations. One is a rook on the seventh rank against a king that has lost the pawns in front of it. The other is a knight landing on f6, often with a capture or a check, when the g-pawn has already moved or been exchanged and can no longer take it. Once both pieces are in place, the mate is usually one or two moves away.
The whole net depends on the knight reaching f6, so a pawn or bishop that controls f6 is the best insurance. If a knight does land there, take it if you can, or move the king out of the corner before the rook arrives. Keep an eye on the seventh rank too: a rook that gets there next to a cornered king is dangerous even before the knight appears.
Several named mates use a knight and a rook, so it helps to know which is which. In the Arabian mate the king is in the corner and the knight protects the rook next to it. In Anastasia's mate the king is on the edge beside one of its own pieces, and the knight only covers escape squares. In the hook mate a pawn protects the knight, and an enemy pawn blocks one of the king's squares.
If you are stuck in a puzzle, the hint shows which piece to move first, then the move. After you solve, the full line appears beside the board.
Arabian mates are often short, so they sit well alongside mate in 1 and mate in 2 puzzles. For mixed tactics at your level, use Puzzle Training; for speed, Puzzle Storm; and for repetition of a fixed set, the Woodpecker Method. Elo Maxing rates you on every tactical motif and serves the weakest next, and Pattern Drill builds practice from the patterns your own games show you miss. For solving under time pressure, read puzzle rush tips.
A checkmate where a rook and a knight trap the enemy king in a corner. The rook checks from the square next to the king, and the knight protects the rook and covers the last escape square.
With the king on h8, the knight is on f6, where it covers g8 and h7 and protects a rook on either of those squares.
Yes. A rook on g8 defended by a knight on f6 is also an Arabian mate, as long as h7 is covered or blocked.
Keep control of f6 with a pawn or bishop, remove the knight if it lands there, or get the king out of the corner before a rook reaches the seventh rank.