This mating pattern is called the Swallow's Tail Mate because the opponent's King is placed near two friendly pieces in a way that resembles the tail of a swallow.
The pattern involves a Queen that, protected by another piece, delivers mate from a square adjacent to the opponent's King. This mate and the Dovetail Mate are two great examples of the power of the Queen. The Queen controls so many squares that it can deliver a deadly attack almost all by itself, even against a King positioned far from the edges of the board. In the simplified example shown in the diagram above, White uses the pattern and wins with 1.Qf5#.
Designed with Love in Italy
These chess icons are our indie studio's tribute to chess lovers around the world. A way of making chess more visual and fun. You can use the icons for free in publicly accessible content, simply by crediting us (see our Licensing Policy). Each icon is paired with examples and numbered insights to help you pick up ideas quickly and talk about chess with confidence. You can get the cards here.
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 the Swallow's Tail 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.
Watch this YouTube short by the excellent ChessMood channel and get to know both the basics of the Swallow’s Tail Checkmate and the origins of its name.
This lesson is a standalone preview of an excellent course by Chessable held by IM John Bartholomew. Watch it as a great intro to the Swallow’s Tail pattern for beginners.
Enjoy this super-fun game played by Phoebe The Queen vs Boston Mike on the Evergreen Chess
channel while trash talking. A nice Swallow’s Tail mate waits for you at the end.
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.
Skip to content
