Tactics · Learn
Pillsbury's Mate
Pillsbury's Mate combines a rook and a bishop: the rook checks along a file or rank near the corner while a fianchettoed bishop covers the escape squares along the long diagonal. The king suffocates between them.
How to spot it: a bishop on the long diagonal aimed at the enemy king's corner is the tell: swing a rook toward the king with check and the bishop does the rest.
How to spot it: a bishop on the long diagonal aimed at the enemy king's corner is the tell: swing a rook toward the king with check and the bishop does the rest.
Now spot it yourself
A real position: find the move. This is exactly what the drills in the app do, banded from beginner to expert.
How this lesson is made: this public explanation comes from the authored Strong Squares curriculum. Automated checks protect its chess data, source fields and learning flow. Independent chess-editor approval remains part of the private-preview release process. Read the teaching method.