Final position — Black delivers mate
Queen's Pawn Game: Back-Rank Mate (Montjanu–Choare)
Black wins in 8 moves by checkmate. (Montjanu - Choare, 1948.??.??)
The moves
| 1. | d4 | Nf6 |
| 2. | Nd2 | e5 |
| 3. | dxe5 | Ng4 |
| 4. | Ngf3 | Be7 |
| 5. | h3 | Ne3 |
| 6. | fxe3 | Bh4+ |
| 7. | Nxh4 | Qxh4+ |
| 8. | g3 | Qxg3# |
How the Queen's Pawn Game: Back-Rank Mate (Montjanu–Choare) works
The Queen's Pawn Game: Back-Rank Mate (Montjanu–Choare) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Queen's pawn game. In this line Black delivers checkmate on move 8, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nd2 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Ngf3 Be7 5.h3 Ne3 6.fxe3 Bh4+ 7.Nxh4 Qxh4+ 8.g3 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 (Montjanu - Choare, 1948.??.??). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Queen's Pawn Game: Back-Rank Mate (Montjanu–Choare) 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.