Boden's mate is a checkmate by two bishops on criss-crossing diagonals against a king that is hemmed in by its own pieces. One bishop gives check, the other covers the squares the king would run to, and the king's own pieces block the rest. Every puzzle on this page ends in Boden's mate, comes from a real game and is close to your puzzle rating. Solving them moves the same rating as Puzzle Training.
The pattern is best known against a king that has castled queenside. Picture Black's king on c8, with a rook on d8 and a knight on d7 beside it. A white bishop on a6 gives check along the diagonal through b7. A second white bishop on f4 controls the other diagonal, through d6 and c7 to b8. The king cannot go to b7, because that square is on the checking bishop's line. It cannot go to c7 or b8, because the second bishop covers them. And d7 and d8 are occupied by its own knight and rook.
The two diagonals form an X in front of the king, which is what gives the mate its look. Neither bishop could do it alone.
The well-known way to reach it is a queen sacrifice that opens the diagonal. White has a queen on e4 and bishops on d3 and f4; Black has castled queenside, with the king on c8, a rook on d8, a knight on d7 and pawns on b7 and c6. White plays 1.Qxc6+. The queen checks the king along the c-file, and because b8 and c7 are covered, Black's only legal move is 1...bxc6. That capture moves the b7 pawn out of the way, and 2.Ba6 is checkmate.
Now put the second bishop on c1 instead of f4. After 1.Qxc6+ the king can step to b8, and even after 1...bxc6 2.Ba6+ it escapes to b8 or c7. The bishop on the diagonal to b8 is not a spectator; it is half the mate.
Three things need to line up. The king's neighbours on one side must be its own pieces, so it can only run towards the bishops. The pawn shield in front of the king must be broken or breakable, often by a sacrifice on c6 or b7 that forces a pawn to recapture. And the attacker needs both bishops pointing at the king from different directions, usually one heading for a6 and one on the diagonal ending at b8.
It is one of the rarest named mates among the puzzles, because all three conditions are needed at once. That is exactly why it is worth studying: when the chance comes in a game, it is easy to walk past.
After castling queenside, give the king a little space: a king on b8 is much harder to trap than one on c8 with its pieces packed around it. Be wary of leaving a knight on d7 and a rook on d8 together, since between them they take the king's squares on that side. Watch the diagonal from f4 to b8 and the one ending at a6. If both are open and the opponent has two bishops, a sacrifice on c6 or b7 may be coming.
In each puzzle, trace the two diagonals that run towards the king and ask which one gives check and which one covers the flight squares. The winning move is often the sacrifice that removes a pawn from the checking diagonal. If you are stuck, the hint shows which piece to move first, then the move. After you solve, the full line appears beside the board.
Boden's mate is often the end of a mate in 2. For more mates where a bishop shares the work with another piece, try Morphy's mate and the Opera mate.
For mixed tactics at your level, use Puzzle Training. For speed, try Puzzle Storm, and to repeat a fixed set until it is automatic, 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. To see how puzzles are matched to your level, read how puzzle ratings work.
A checkmate by two bishops on criss-crossing diagonals against a king that is blocked in by its own pieces, best known against a king that has castled queenside.
Yes. Both names describe the same two-bishop checkmate pattern.
The sacrifice, commonly on c6, forces a pawn to recapture and so opens the diagonal the checking bishop needs.
Move the king to b8 when you have time, avoid packing a knight on d7 and a rook on d8 around it, and watch for two enemy bishops aiming at the king.