LaviChess

The opera mate: a rook on the back rank, protected by a bishop

A rook gives check on the back rank, and a bishop protects it from a distance. The pattern is named after the Opera Game, played in a box at the opera in Paris in 1858.

What it looks like

The king is still in the middle, on e8, and has not castled. A rook comes in on d8 with check. The king can't take it, because a bishop on g5 protects the rook, and the same bishop covers e7. The rook covers d7, and the king's own pieces stand on f7 and f8.

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The final position of the Opera Game: the rook on d8 gives check, and the bishop on g5 protects it and covers e7.

It is a close relative of the back-rank mate: mate on the back rank. The difference is that here the rook stands right next to the king and needs a bishop to protect it.

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White to move and mate in one.

The Opera Game, Paris 1858

In the autumn of 1858 the young American Paul Morphy sat in a box at the opera in Paris and played against two noblemen, the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard, who chose Black's moves together. Morphy got his pieces out quickly, sacrificed a knight, a rook and the queen, and on the seventeenth move he mated with a rook and a bishop. The American master Frank Marshall called it, in 1932, the most famous game of all time.

Try to find Morphy's finish yourself:

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White to move and mate in two. The position is from the Opera Game, Paris 1858.
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12… Rd8

Both of Black's knights are pinned: the one on d7 to the king, the one on f6 to the queen. White's pieces are out.
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Open on the analysis board

The whole game, with its background and notes, is under the Opera Game.

See it coming, and defend

  • A king left in the middle. The opera mate strikes a king that has not castled. Castle in time.
  • An open file towards the back rank. A rook on an open d-file or e-file can reach the eighth rank in one move.
  • A bishop aiming at d8 and e7. If your opponent's bishop is on g5, the square next to the king is already taken. Chase it away, or trade it.
  • Pinned pieces. In the Opera Game, Black's pieces were pinned and couldn't defend. Break pins before it is too late.

Puzzles

150 opera mate puzzles

Opera mates from real games, from easy to hard.

Frequently asked questions

What is the opera mate?

A checkmate where a rook gives check on the back rank, right next to the king, and is protected by a bishop. The name comes from the Opera Game, where Paul Morphy mated this way in 1858.

Why is it called the opera mate?

After the Opera Game: Paul Morphy played it in a box at the opera in Paris in 1858, against the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard, and finished with exactly this mate.

Updated November 14, 2026