Final position — White delivers mate
Giuoco Piano: Back-Rank Mate
White wins in 13 moves by checkmate. (Cochrane - Unknown, London 1822)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bc4 | Bc5 |
| 4. | c3 | Nf6 |
| 5. | d4 | exd4 |
| 6. | e5 | Ng4 |
| 7. | Bd5 | Nxf2 |
| 8. | Bxf7+ | Kxf7 |
| 9. | Ng5+ | Kg8 |
| 10. | Qb3+ | d5 |
| 11. | exd6+ | Be6 |
| 12. | Qxe6+ | Kf8 |
| 13. | Qf7# |
How the Giuoco Piano: Back-Rank Mate works
The Giuoco Piano: Back-Rank Mate is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Giuoco Piano. In this line White delivers checkmate on move 13, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 Ng4 7.Bd5 Nxf2 8.Bxf7+ Kxf7 9.Ng5+ Kg8 10.Qb3+ d5 11.exd6+ Be6 12.Qxe6+ Kf8 13.Qf7#. 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 (Cochrane - Unknown, London 1822). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Giuoco Piano: Back-Rank 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.