What is Anderssen’s mate in chess?

Named after nineteenth-century chess legend Adolf Anderssen, this checkmating pattern features a valiant pawn assisting a heavy piece to deliver the killing blow to a king stuck on the side of the board. A variation of it is also known as Mayet’s mate.

Here’s what Anderssen’s mate looks like:

The queen is protected by a pawn and delivers checkmate by itself. The pattern can also emerge with a rook, though that does need some extra assistance to cover a square. Anderssen secured a spectacular victory against Zuketort in 1869 after a large sacrificial attack, eventually leading to this checkmating move:

A variation of Anderssen’s mate is called Mayet’s mate, which relies on a bishop instead of a pawn to provide the protection for the rook or the queen that delivers the checkmate.

Unlike some other checkmate types that can emerge seemingly out of nowhere in amateur games, the appearance of an Anderssen’s mate usually means that the player in question was already in trouble. With an enemy pawn advanced far towards the promotion line and a heavy piece also lurking around, and all of this going on around the king, no less. This means it’s already a sign of a losing position.