Final position — White delivers mate
Robatsch Defence: Back-Rank Mate
White wins in 4 moves by checkmate. (Sternenberg - Russo, Sacramento 1993)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | g6 |
| 2. | d4 | f5 |
| 3. | exf5 | gxf5 |
| 4. | Qh5# |
How the Robatsch Defence: Back-Rank Mate works
The Robatsch Defence: Back-Rank Mate is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Robatsch Defence. In this line White delivers checkmate on move 4, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 g6 2.d4 f5 3.exf5 gxf5 4.Qh5#. 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 (Sternenberg - Russo, Sacramento 1993). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Robatsch Defence: 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.