Lolli's mate (1 move)
Master this and many more motifs
systematically with
Puzzle Academy
In Lolli's mate, a queen checkmates the king on the edge of the board.
The queen is next to the king, but can't be captured, because it is protected by a pawn.
Explanation
This checkmate is named after Giambattista Lolli, a chess player from 18th century Italy.
Examples
White has invaded Black's castling position with the pawn on f6 and the queen, and can deliver Lolli's mate with Qg7#.
Black can deliver Lolli's mate with Qh2#. The pawn on g3 is very strong, protecting the queen and guarding the escape square f2.
Pattern matching
A pawn guarding escape squares in the opponent's castling position can be very dangerous. It can lead to Lolli's mate, or highstriker mate.