Exercise 6.1★ · Mate in 1
Black to move
Mate in one.
6
Attacking the King · Yatish Chandra Shukla
Mating Traps in the Opening
Short games, long lessons
In this lesson you will learn
- Why the king is most vulnerable in the first ten moves
- The weak squares f7 and f2
- Seven classic traps, from Fool's Mate to the Kieninger Trap
- How to avoid falling into a trap yourself
Every board on this page is live. Move the pieces by tapping or dragging, click any move in the lines to see that position, and press ↺ to start again.
6.1 Why the Opening Is Dangerous
At the start of the game both kings sit in the middle of the back rank, surrounded by pieces that have not moved. That makes them easy targets for smothered mates and back-rank mates. The squares f7 and f2 are protected only by the king, and a queen and bishop can attack them in two moves.
The traps in this chapter are short, but each one teaches a pattern that appears in master games again and again. Play through each game on a board, stop at the diagram, and find the mate yourself before reading on.
NoteThree habits keep you safe in the opening: develop your pieces, castle early, and before every move ask "what does my opponent threaten?"
6.2 Fool's Mate
1.f3 e5 2.g4 ♕h4#
Diagram 6.1Black to move
Example 6.1
The position before the final blow. Black to move and mate.
The fastest mate possible. White has opened the diagonal e1–h4 with two weakening pawn moves, and the queen strikes at once. The king is boxed in by its own pieces on d1, f2 and the rest of the back rank.
LessonMoves like 1.f3 and 2.g4 weaken the squares next to your own king. Never open a diagonal to your king for nothing.
6.3 Scholar's Mate
1.e4 e5 2.♗c4 ♘c6 3.♕h5 ♘f6 4.♕xf7#
Diagram 6.2White to move
Example 6.2
The position before the final blow. White to move and mate.
f7 is the weakest square in Black's camp: at the start only the king protects it. Queen and bishop aim at it together, and 3...♘f6? attacks the queen but forgets the threat. 3...♕e7 or 3...g6 would have defended.
LessonWhen your opponent's queen and bishop aim at the same square, ask: what does the battery threaten? Defend first, attack the queen later.
6.4 Légal's Mate
1.e4 e5 2.♘f3 d6 3.♗c4 ♗g4 4.♘c3 g6 5.♘xe5 ♗xd1 6.♗xf7+ ♔e7 7.♘d5#
Diagram 6.3White to move
Example 6.3
The position before the final blow. White to move and mate.
Named after the French player Légal de Kermur. The knight on f3 looks pinned to the queen, but White breaks the pin and gives up the queen. Three minor pieces then mate: the bishop on f7 and the knights on e5 and d5 cover every square. Black should have played 5...dxe5, losing only a pawn.
LessonA pin to the queen is not an absolute pin. If the queen sacrifice leads to mate, the pinned piece is free to move.
6.5 Smothered Mate in the Caro-Kann
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.♘c3 dxe4 4.♘xe4 ♘d7 5.♕e2 ♘gf6 6.♘d6#
Diagram 6.4White to move
Example 6.4
The position before the final blow. White to move and mate.
Black has developed naturally, but the e-pawn is pinned against the king by the queen on e2. The knight jumps into d6 and nothing can take it: the e7-pawn is pinned. The king is surrounded by its own queen, bishop and pawns.
LessonAn uncastled king on e8 with the e-file half-open is always in danger of pins and smothered mates.
6.6 The Blackburne Shilling Trap
1.e4 e5 2.♘f3 ♘c6 3.♗c4 ♘d4 4.♘xe5 ♕g5 5.♘xf7 ♕xg2 6.♖f1 ♕xe4+ 7.♗e2 ♘f3#
Diagram 6.5Black to move
Example 6.5
The position before the final blow. Black to move and mate.
Legend says the great English player Joseph Blackburne won a shilling a game with this trap. Greedy White grabs a pawn and then a rook, but the black queen and knight work together and the white king is smothered by its own bishop, rook and pawns.
LessonGrabbing material while your opponent's queen and knight close in on your king is dangerous. Ask what the opponent threatens before you take.
6.7 The Englund Gambit Trap
1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 ♘c6 3.♘f3 ♕e7 4.♗f4 ♕b4+ 5.♗d2 ♕xb2 6.♗c3 ♗b4 7.♕d2 ♗xc3 8.♕xc3 ♕c1#
Diagram 6.6Black to move
Example 6.6
The position before the final blow. Black to move and mate.
White plays naturally, trying to trap the black queen, but after the exchanges on c3 the white queen no longer covers the back rank. The king on e1 is a back-rank victim with its own knight and queen blocking d1.
LessonEven in the opening, look out for back-rank mates. A queen that leaves the first rank can leave the king without defenders.
6.8 The Kieninger Trap
1.d4 ♘f6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 ♘g4 4.♗f4 ♗b4+ 5.♘d2 ♘c6 6.♘gf3 ♕e7 7.a3 ♘gxe5 8.axb4 ♘d3#
Diagram 6.7Black to move
Example 6.7
The position before the final blow. Black to move and mate.
From the Budapest Gambit. White grabs the bishop, but the knight lands on d3 with a smothered mate: the white king is wrapped in by its own queen, knight and pawns, and the e2-pawn is pinned by the queen on e7.
LessonWhen the e-file is open and your king is still on e1, a check on that file can paralyse your pieces. Count which of your pieces are pinned.
Remember
- In the opening the king is surrounded by its own pieces — ideal for smothered and back-rank mates.
- f7 and f2 are guarded only by the king. Watch out for queen and bishop batteries.
- A pin to the queen can be broken if the queen sacrifice leads to mate.
- Develop, castle, and always ask what your opponent threatens.
Exercises · Lesson 6
These positions come from short games that went wrong in the opening. Find the forced mate. The moves of each game are given with the solution.
Exercise 6.2★ · Mate in 1
Black to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 6.3★ · Mate in 1
White to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 6.4★ · Mate in 1
Black to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 6.5★ · Mate in 1
White to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 6.6★ · Mate in 1
White to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 6.7★ · Mate in 1
White to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 6.8★ · Mate in 1
White to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 6.9★ · Mate in 1
Black to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 6.10★ · Mate in 1
White to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 6.11★ · Mate in 1
White to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 6.12★ · Mate in 1
White to move
Mate in one.
Exercise 6.13★★ · Mate in 2
Black to move
Mate in 2.
Exercise 6.14★★ · Mate in 2
Black to move
Mate in 2.
Exercise 6.15★★ · Mate in 2
White to move
Mate in 2.
Exercise 6.16★★ · Mate in 2
White to move
Mate in 2.
Exercise 6.17★★ · Mate in 2
White to move
Mate in 2.
Exercise 6.18★★ · Mate in 2
Black to move
Mate in 2.
Exercise 6.19★★ · Mate in 2
White to move
Mate in 2.
Exercise 6.20★★ · Mate in 2
White to move
Mate in 2.
Exercise 6.21★★★ · Mate in 3
White to move
Mate in 3.
Exercise 6.22★★★ · Mate in 3
Black to move
Mate in 3.