Smothered mate — the king in its own prison

Mate in 2 White to move · Mate with bishop and knight · Difficulty about Elo 1500

The plan

The most elegant mating pattern in chess: the king is walled in so completely by its own pieces that a single knight is enough. The knight is the only piece that can jump over this wall — which is why the pattern works with no other piece. One square is still left to the king, though, and it is taken away with the queen sacrifice: the queen places herself exactly there, defended by the knight, so that the king is not allowed to capture her. Only a single piece can capture her at all — and it is precisely that piece that then blocks its own king's last free square. After that the knight jumps in and the king stands in a cell made entirely of its own pieces. Remember: against a smothered king, the knight is stronger than the queen.

Why this level: The pattern is memorable, but the queen sacrifice goes against every instinct; once you have seen it, you find it again for the rest of your life.

The solution, move by move

1. 1. Qg8+ The sacrifice takes away the king's last square — not through defence, but by forcing the defender to occupy it himself.
2. 1… Rxg8 The only legal move on the whole board. The rook has to capture, and in doing so walls in its own king.
3. 2. Nf7# The knight jumps over the wall. All around, nothing but its own pieces — no square, no capture, no block.

More in Mate with bishop and knight

• Boden's mate — two bishops crossed Mate in 2
• Arabian mate — the oldest mating pattern Mate in 1