A smothered mate is checkmate by a knight against a king that cannot move because its own pieces fill every square around it.
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A knight check cannot be blocked. If the king's own pieces fill every square next to it, the knight alone is enough to mate.
How to do it
- 1Look for an enemy king in the corner, surrounded by its own pawns and pieces.
- 2Check with the knight. If one square stays open, sacrifice to fill it.
- 3Mate with the knight.
For your level
A king in the corner can be trapped by its own pieces. Then a knight check is mate.
Check you have it
Question 1 of 2
Play the moves through. What has happened to the king?
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Question 2 of 2
After the last move, how many legal moves does the mated side have?
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Common mistakes
- Sacrificing the queen before the king is back in the corner.
- Checking with the knight while the king still has an open square.
Questions
- What is Philidor's legacy?
- The best-known route to a smothered mate: two knight checks, a queen sacrifice on g8 that the rook must take, then knight mate. It is named after Philidor, though the pattern is older.