This mating pattern is called Boden's Mate because it was famously executed by English chess player Samuel Boden in a game that took place in London in 1853. Besides being a professional chess master, Boden had a passion for art and became a competent amateur painter, hence the icon on the card.
The pattern involves two Bishops attacking an exposed King on intersecting diagonals. One Bishop limits the King's escape squares, while the other delivers mate on an unguarded diagonal. Two of the opponent's own pieces further restrict the King's mobility. In the simplified example shown in the diagram above, White uses the pattern and wins with 1.Bh6#.
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When we started adding a playful touch to chess learning, we looked through thousands of videos and hundreds of books to find the best resources out there. Here's our curated selection of the best content we encountered on Boden's Mate. We also included some smaller creators who are growing fast and we believe deserve your attention. Check out these resources if you want to master this checkmate pattern.
This is a very well-thought-out and engaging video by the excellent You Me And Chess YouTube channel. Full of historical notes and incredibly rich in examples.
GM Simon Williams is great as usual in this lesson he prepared for Chess.com. At the end, train your Boden’s Mate understanding with the interactive challenges.
This inexpensive, short book by James Provak is ideal for beginners who want an easy-to-read, highly visual introduction to the most common and well-known mating patterns.
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