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Mate of the Century

The mated king is on the back-rank. The rook delivers the checkmate, protected usually by a pawn, but any piece will do as a rook protector. In the Game of the Century, Bobby Fischer used a bishop to protect his rook to mate Donald Byrne. The knight stands behind the rook, covering the squares on both sides of the king (the epaulettes). Notice how the king, rook and knight are all in a straight line.

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