The epaulette mate takes its name from the two rooks either side of the king - they look like the epaulettes on a uniform. Those pieces deprive the king of his escape squares themselves, while the queen steps right up and mates along the file or the rank.
Here the black king stands on e8 with his own rooks either side, on d8 and f8. The white queen on e6 checks down the open e-file. The king cannot move: d7 and f7 are under fire from the queen, and d8 and f8 are taken by his own rooks. Mate, even though Black has plenty of material.
The epaulette mate is a vivid lesson about giving the king an escape square: when he is surrounded by his own pieces, extra material does not save him. To avoid a mate like this, free a retreat square for the king in advance.
This page is a handy place to go over the set-up on the board and work through it square by square. An overview of all the named mates is collected in a separate article.
Drag a piece onto the board, or click a piece and then click the squares. The cross beside the pieces sweeps every piece of that colour off the board, and a single piece can be dragged off the edge.
The pieces will be arranged into the chosen pattern.
It is the mating side to move. Find mate in one.
Openings, endgame positions and breakthrough studies - the set-up appears on the board.
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