Final position — White delivers mate
Scotch Game: Bishop Mate
White wins in 10 moves by checkmate. (Hopkins - Unknown, London 1932)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | d4 | exd4 |
| 4. | Nxd4 | Nge7 |
| 5. | Nc3 | g6 |
| 6. | Bg5 | Bg7 |
| 7. | Nd5 | Bxd4 |
| 8. | Qxd4 | Nxd4 |
| 9. | Nf6+ | Kf8 |
| 10. | Bh6# |
How the Scotch Game: Bishop Mate works
The Scotch Game: Bishop Mate is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Scotch Game. In this line White delivers checkmate on move 10, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nge7 5.Nc3 g6 6.Bg5 Bg7 7.Nd5 Bxd4 8.Qxd4 Nxd4 9.Nf6+ Kf8 10.Bh6#. 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 (Hopkins - Unknown, London 1932). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Scotch Game: Bishop 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.