A dovetail mate is a checkmate by a queen standing on a square diagonally next to the enemy king. The queen is protected, so the king cannot take it, and the only two escape squares the queen does not cover are blocked by the king's own pieces. Every puzzle on this page ends in a dovetail mate, comes from a real game and is close to your puzzle rating.
A queen touching the king diagonally is very strong. Along its own file and rank it covers four of the king's neighbouring squares, and along the diagonal it covers the square directly behind the king, because the king cannot retreat along the line of the check. Only two neighbouring squares are out of its reach: the ones on the far side of the king, either side of that diagonal.
Here is a position. White has a king on g1, a queen on e2 and pawns on a2, b2, d5, f2, g2 and h2. Black has a king on f7, rooks on a8 and f8, and pawns on a7, b7, g7 and h7. White plays 1.Qe6#. The queen covers e7, e8, f6 and g6, and g8 behind the king. The two squares it does not reach, f8 and g7, are filled by Black's own rook and pawn. The pawn on d5 defends the queen, so the king cannot take it.
So a dovetail mate needs three things: a queen on a diagonal square next to the king, a defender for that queen, and two of the king's own pieces standing on exactly the squares the queen misses.
The two are easy to mix up. In a dovetail mate the queen checks diagonally, and the blocked squares are the two straight neighbours on the far side of the king. In a swallow's tail mate the queen checks from a straight neighbour, directly in front of or beside the king, and the blocked squares are the two diagonal squares on the far side. If you picture where the queen stands, the rest follows.
The pattern needs a king away from the edge of the board, so it turns up most in endgames and in games where the king has been driven out of its castled position. Queen endings are one source: kings stand in the open, pawns and pieces end up next to them, and a queen check from close range can suddenly have no answer.
The blocking pieces are the heart of it. A rook that stepped next to its king to defend it, or a pawn left on the square beside it, is exactly what makes the mate work. The more of its own pieces a king has around it, the fewer squares it really has.
When the enemy king is out of its corner, look at the diagonal squares next to it. Can your queen reach one of them with support from a pawn, knight, bishop or king? If so, check the two squares on the far side. If both are occupied by enemy pieces, it is mate.
For the defender, the lesson is to keep a square behind the king free, or to keep the diagonal squares beside it covered. A single piece that moves out of the way can turn a mate into a harmless check.
The attacker's mistake is placing the queen next to the king without protection, where the king simply captures it. Another is checking from a straight square instead, which leaves two different squares open. The defender's mistake is crowding the king with its own pieces in a queen ending, believing more defenders means more safety.
Most dovetail mates in puzzles are short, so aim for fast, confident recognition. If you are stuck, the hint shows the piece first, then the move. Once solved, the full line appears beside the board. Pair this page with swallow's tail mates to fix the difference between the two, and see the checkmate patterns page for the rest.
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 which patterns you miss in your own games, read how to find your chess weaknesses.
A checkmate by a protected queen on a square diagonally next to the king, where the two escape squares the queen does not cover are blocked by the king's own pieces.
In a dovetail mate the queen checks diagonally. In a swallow's tail mate it checks from the next square in a straight line.
Yes. The queen stands next to the king, so without a defender the king would simply capture it.
Away from the edge of the board, most often in endgames and positions where the king has left its castled shelter.