Final position — Black delivers mate
Italian Game: Queen Mate
Black wins in 11 moves by checkmate. (Unknown - Poole, England 1952)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bc4 | Bc5 |
| 4. | O-O | d6 |
| 5. | d3 | Bg4 |
| 6. | Nc3 | Nd4 |
| 7. | Be3 | Nxf3+ |
| 8. | gxf3 | Bh3 |
| 9. | Re1 | Bxe3 |
| 10. | fxe3 | Qg5+ |
| 11. | Kf2 | Qg2# |
How the Italian Game: Queen Mate works
The Italian Game: Queen Mate is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Italian Game. In this line Black delivers checkmate on move 11, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O d6 5.d3 Bg4 6.Nc3 Nd4 7.Be3 Nxf3+ 8.gxf3 Bh3 9.Re1 Bxe3 10.fxe3 Qg5+ 11.Kf2 Qg2#. Each move looks reasonable, which is exactly why the trap is so effective over the board — White walks into it while trying to play "normal" developing moves.
This pattern is well known from master and correspondence play (Unknown - Poole, England 1952). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Italian Game: Queen 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.