Final position — Black delivers mate
Scotch Game: Knight Mate
Black wins in 9 moves by checkmate. (Miller - Chernev, New York 1935)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | d4 | exd4 |
| 4. | Nxd4 | Nf6 |
| 5. | Bg5 | Be7 |
| 6. | Nf5 | d5 |
| 7. | exd5 | Ne5 |
| 8. | Nxe7 | Qxe7 |
| 9. | Bxf6 | Nf3# |
How the Scotch Game: Knight Mate works
The Scotch Game: Knight Mate is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Scotch Game. In this line Black delivers checkmate on move 9, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Bg5 Be7 6.Nf5 d5 7.exd5 Ne5 8.Nxe7 Qxe7 9.Bxf6 Nf3#. 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 (Miller - Chernev, New York 1935). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Scotch Game: Knight 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.