Final position — White delivers mate
Ruy Lopez: Back-Rank Mate (Moore–Peto)
White wins in 11 moves by checkmate. (Moore - Peto, British Columbia 1980)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bb5 | a6 |
| 4. | Bxc6 | dxc6 |
| 5. | O-O | Nf6 |
| 6. | Nxe5 | Bd6 |
| 7. | Nc4 | Nxe4 |
| 8. | Qe2 | Qe7 |
| 9. | Re1 | Nf6 |
| 10. | Nxd6+ | cxd6 |
| 11. | Qxe7# |
How the Ruy Lopez: Back-Rank Mate (Moore–Peto) works
The Ruy Lopez: Back-Rank Mate (Moore–Peto) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Ruy Lopez. In this line White delivers checkmate on move 11, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O Nf6 6.Nxe5 Bd6 7.Nc4 Nxe4 8.Qe2 Qe7 9.Re1 Nf6 10.Nxd6+ cxd6 11.Qxe7#. 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 (Moore - Peto, British Columbia 1980). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Ruy Lopez: Back-Rank Mate (Moore–Peto) 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.