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Pablo's
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Reference
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Smothered Mate
by David Surratt

Smothered mate is a checkmate delivered by a knight on a king which is hemmed in by his own pieces.  Since his own pieces surround the king and block his escape routes, the king is said to be "smothered".  The winning idea occurs often enough that you should be aware of even the threat of it.

Here is a simplified version of probably the most famous example of smothered mate, Philidor's Legacy:
 

The king is in check, but his own pieces - the pawns in front of him and the rook beside him - block all his escape routes.  They "smother" him.

How did Black get in this mess?  Let's add a few more pieces on the board, and back up a few moves:
 

White is down the exchange and a pawn, and his prospects don't look too bright, except for this powerful mating resource at his disposal:

1. Nxf7+          Kg8
2. Nh6+
 

Black is in double check, both from the knight at h6 and the queen at b3.  If he plays 2...Kg8 White mates with 3.Qf7, so Black heads back to the corner, resigned to a probable perpetual check (3...Kh8 4.Nf7+ Kg8 5.Nh6+ etc.).  White has a rude surprise in store for Black though:

3. .....               Kh8
4. Qg8+!
 

White sacrifices his queen to force Black's own pieces to smother him (since the Queen is protected by the knight, Black can only capture her with his rook) then delivers the coup-de-grace with the lowly knight:

4. .....                      Rxg8
5. Nf7 mate
 

Traceable back to Lucena in 1496, credit for popularizing this mating pattern goes to the eighteenth-century chess genius Philidor, and it is known as Philidor's Legacy.

Unconvinced that you need to know about this mating pattern?  Here is an example from a recent internet game played by Chessville's Forum Host, Kelly Atkins.  After 35 moves of hard work, the following position was reached in NN vs Kelly Atkins:
 

Black's earlier blunder allowed White to win a piece, and now he has many paths to consolidate his position and win easily.  White, however, must have been unaware of Philidor's Legacy, and played...

36. Nd6??

White thinks he is winning the exchange here, but Black is about to educate him...

36. .....                    Nc2+
37.Kb1                   Na3+
38.Ka1                   Qb1+
39.Rxb1                 Nc2 mate
 

A fine swindle indeed!  White threw away the fruits of his hard work not out of negligence, but out of ignorance.  If White had known about Philidor's Legacy he might not have fallen into this trap.

Here is another example of a smothered mate:
 

1. Qe6+                 Kh8

Once again, if 1...Kf8 then 2.Qf7 mates.

2. Nf7+                  Kg8
 

Do you recognize the pattern there?  Remember what to do?

3. Nh6+                 Kh8
4. Qg8+                 Rxg8
5. Nf7 mate
 

Let's change things around just a little bit for our next example:
 

The knight on e5 is pinned, so White can not employ the windmill-like tactics of the previous example.  Instead, White goes straight for the jugular:

1. Qg8+!                Rxg8

Black can not capture with the king because of the bishop on b3.  Now though, the Black king is out of escape squares, and the White knight is no longer pinned.

2. Nf7 mate
 

Philidor's Legacy is my favorite form of the smothered mate, but certainly not the only way it can occur.  Another way this mate can come about is humorously recounted in Boris Vainshtein's entertaining booklet, Introduction to Chess Openings:

"When I was 12 years old, a certain literary man, who was said to be a strong chess player, came to visit us.  He agreed to play just one game, and generously gave me White.  With a shaking hand I moved the pieces, thinking for about ten minutes over each move.  My opponent replied instantly, without halting his conversation with my parents, and without apparently paying any attention to the board.

1. e4                      e5
2. Nf3                    Nc6
3. Bc4                    Nd4
 

What's this?  My opponent has blundered away a pawn!  I'll take it, and I'll be attacking a second pawn which apparently can not be defended ... Great!  What a tasty morsel!

4. Nxe5                  Qg5

He's attacking a pawn as well as my knight.  But I'll capture his pawn with my knight, and fork his queen and rook.  He'll move his queen, and then I'll grab his rook.  Of course, he can't have seen all this.  He can take my pawn, but to [heck] with it.  I'll be a rook up.

5. Nxf7                   Qxg2
 

It turns out that I can't take his rook yet, since he'll take my rook with check, and then trap my knight and come out a piece up.  But that doesn't matter, his rook has nowhere to go, whereas I can move mine.  And so...

6. Rf1                    Qxe4+
 

That's rather unpleasant.  I can't block with the queen, and my king has nowhere to go.  I'll have to block with the bishop.

7. Be2                    Nf3 mate

I just sat there, went as red as a beetroot, and was unable to utter a single word.  How could this have happened?  Everything had been going so well: a fork ... two pawns ... check, and suddenly ..."

Ever felt like ten year old Boris?  I have!

Here are two more examples of smothered mates occurring in actual games.

This first game, from 1935, pits World Champion Alexander Alekhine against four Allies, who were allowed to discuss the game amongst themselves before deciding on a move.

1. e4                     c6
2. d4                     d5
3. Nc3                  dxe4
4. Nxe4                Nd7
5. Qe2
 

White perhaps plans to castle queenside and launch an attack against Black's kingside.  Black shortened the struggle considerably though with his suicidal next move, which overlooks the discovered pin along the e-file.

5. .....                      Nf6??
6. Nd6 mate
 

One of the earliest examples is this game, published in England in 1656 in Beale's Royal Game of Chess Playe:

1.e4                       e5
2.Nf3                     Nc6
3.Bc4                     Bc5
4.0-0                      Nf6
5.Re1                     0-0
6.c3                        Re8
7.d4                        exd4
8.e5                        Ng4
9.cxd4                    Nxd4
10.Nxd4                 Qh4
 

11.Nf3                   Qxf2+
12.Kh1                  Qg1+
13.Rxg1                 Nf2 mate
 

Learn and remember these smothered mate patterns, and maybe you too can swindle your way to victory!

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