Final position — Black delivers mate
Nimzovich-Larsen Attack: Back-Rank Mate (Shibut–Pugh)
Black wins in 9 moves by checkmate. (Shibut - Pugh, Philadelphia 1983)
The moves
| 1. | b3 | Nf6 |
| 2. | Bb2 | d6 |
| 3. | f4 | e5 |
| 4. | fxe5 | dxe5 |
| 5. | Bxe5 | Ng4 |
| 6. | Bg3 | h5 |
| 7. | h3 | Bd6 |
| 8. | Bxd6 | Qh4+ |
| 9. | Bg3 | Qxg3# |
How the Nimzovich-Larsen Attack: Back-Rank Mate (Shibut–Pugh) works
The Nimzovich-Larsen Attack: Back-Rank Mate (Shibut–Pugh) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Nimzovich-Larsen Attack. In this line Black delivers checkmate on move 9, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.b3 Nf6 2.Bb2 d6 3.f4 e5 4.fxe5 dxe5 5.Bxe5 Ng4 6.Bg3 h5 7.h3 Bd6 8.Bxd6 Qh4+ 9.Bg3 Qxg3#. 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 (Shibut - Pugh, Philadelphia 1983). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Nimzovich-Larsen Attack: Back-Rank Mate (Shibut–Pugh) 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.