Anastasia's and Arabian mates

How to spot it

Rook and knight are a deadly mating team. In the Arabian mate, the king is in the corner (say h8), a knight on f6 guards g8 and h7, and a rook lands next to the king on h7 or g8, protected by the knight. The rook covers one line, the knight covers the rest.

In Anastasia’s mate, the king is on the edge (h7 or h8) with its own pawn on g7. A knight on e7 covers g8 and g6, and a rook or queen gives check along the h-file. The g7-pawn blocks the king’s last square.

What to look for: a knight that can reach f6 or e7, an open h-file or seventh rank for your rook, and a defender of h7 you can remove. Very often the queen is sacrificed on h7 just to drag the king onto the h-file.

Puzzles

Ten puzzles, rated 800 to 1650. A wrong move shows the engine’s refutation, and a missed puzzle comes back for review.