Final position — White delivers mate
Caro-Kann Defence: Bishop Mate
White wins in 8 moves by checkmate. (Damant - Unknown, London 1932)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | c6 |
| 2. | d4 | d5 |
| 3. | Bd3 | Nf6 |
| 4. | e5 | Nfd7 |
| 5. | e6 | fxe6 |
| 6. | Qh5+ | g6 |
| 7. | Qxg6+ | hxg6 |
| 8. | Bxg6# |
How the Caro-Kann Defence: Bishop Mate works
The Caro-Kann Defence: Bishop Mate is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Caro-Kann Defence. In this line White delivers checkmate on move 8, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Bd3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.e6 fxe6 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxg6+ hxg6 8.Bxg6#. Each move looks reasonable, which is exactly why the trap is so effective over the board — Black walks into it while trying to play "normal" developing moves.
This pattern is well known from master and correspondence play (Damant - Unknown, London 1932). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Caro-Kann Defence: Bishop Mate in the Trapsterapp to play it out on a live board, drill it in practice mode, and learn how to avoid it when it's set for you — along with the full library of chess traps and gambits, fully offline.