Blackburne’s Mate is a rare checkmate pattern that involves two bishops and a knight against a castled king. The pattern is named after Joseph Henry Blackburne’s, a British chess player who once demonstrated this checkmate in one of his games.
Blackburne’s Mate Example 1
Diagram above: 1.Bh7# demonstrates the typical coordination between two bishops and a knight that resembles the checkmate pattern.
Blackburne’s Mate Example 2
Here’s the original game that earned this pattern it’s name:
Diagram above: 1… Qxh3+ White is forced to play 2.gxh3, which will expose the white king on the h1-e4 diagonal.
Diagram above: After 1… Qxh3+ 2.gxh3, black plays Bxe4#
It’s also interesting to note that black has only three minor pieces remaining, yet they coordinate perfectly to deliver checkmate. Although white has a lot of pieces on the board, they’re not doing anything to help defend their king.