Epaulette mate

What is the epaulette mate?

In an epaulette mate the king's own pieces, usually the rooks, stand on either side of it. They take the king's squares to the sides, and the queen gives check from in front and covers the rest.

An epaulette is the shoulder piece on a uniform, and that is what the pattern looks like. Carlsen gave an epaulette mate at thirteen, in 2004. Read more under the epaulette mate.

Look for a king squeezed in between its own pieces, and for a square two steps in front of it where the queen can give check.

How the puzzles work

There are 150 puzzles here. Choose a level above the board. Within each level the puzzles get harder and harder, and when you come back you pick up where you left off.

Your opponent makes the first move, then it's your turn. If you get stuck, Hint shows which piece to move, and Show the solution plays the rest. The theme only shows once the puzzle is done, but here you already know what you're looking for.

In Puzzle training you get puzzles in this theme at your own level, and see how you're doing in each theme.

More puzzles

• Mate in one
• Mate in two
• Mate in three
• Fork
• Pin
• Skewer
• Discovered attack
• Double check
• Sacrifice
• Deflection
• Attraction
• Hanging piece
• In-between move
• Back-rank mate
• Smothered mate
• Arabian mate
• Anastasia's mate
• Boden's mate
• Opera mate
• Swallow's tail mate
• Morphy's mate
• Pillsbury's mate
• Promotion
• Endgame
• Rook endgames
• Pawn endgames
• Zugzwang

The puzzles come from Lichess, fetched on November 1, 2026.

Updated November 14, 2026