Dovetail mate

Dovetail mate, also called a swallowtail mate, is a queen mate next to the king. The queen checks from an adjacent diagonal square, and two of the king's own pieces block the squares on either side.

The shape looks like a dove's tail: the queen sits in the notch, and the king's own pieces form the sides. The queen must be protected, or the king must have no capture.

Source database: 4,046 puzzles with this tag. This trainer: 180.

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Puzzle rating 973 · played 1,293 times in the source set

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beginner993 in the source database · 36 on the pageeasy1,773 in the source database · 36 on the pageintermediate918 in the source database · 36 on the pagehard281 in the source database · 36 on the pageexpert81 in the source database · 36 on the page