Morphy's mate: the bishop mates in the corner

What it looks like

The king stands in the corner, on h8, and its own pawn stands on h7. A rook on the g-file covers g8 and g7. The bishop gives check from f6, along the long diagonal. The king has nowhere to go.

Here the bishop gives mate and the rook shuts the king in. Swap the roles and you get Pillsbury's mate, which looks almost the same.

The queen sacrifice that opens the g-file

When it starts, the king often stands on g8 behind its pawns. Then the rook needs an open g-file, and the bishop an open diagonal. A queen sacrifice can give both: the queen takes the defending piece, a pawn takes back, and suddenly the file is open. The exercise below goes exactly like that: the queen takes, the pawn takes back, the rook checks and the bishop mates.

Paul Morphy

Paul Morphy of New Orleans lived from 1837 to 1884, and for a few short years at the end of the 1850s he was acknowledged as the best chess player in the world. His Opera Game is one of the most famous games there is.

Why this particular pattern carries his name is not entirely clear. It is usually linked to his game against Louis Paulsen in New York in 1857. But there it never came to mate on the board: Paulsen avoided the mate and resigned only eight moves later. And in the mate that was threatened in that game, it was the rook that gave check, not the bishop.

See it coming, and defend

• The long diagonal. A bishop on b2 or b7 aiming at your corner is dangerous even from far away.
• An open g-file. If your opponent has a rook that can reach the g-file, a king in the corner is in danger. Think twice before letting the g-pawn disappear.
• The defender on f6, or f3. Often a single piece holds the defense together. Expect it to be taken, even by the queen.
• Air on the right side. A king in the corner with a pawn on h7 can only flee along the g-file. With the pawn on h6, h7 is free.

Updated November 14, 2026