Final position — White delivers mate
Three Knights Game: Queen Mate
White wins in 9 moves by checkmate. (T. Christensen - B. Jacobsen, Aarhus 1991)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Nc3 | d6 |
| 4. | d4 | exd4 |
| 5. | Nxd4 | g6 |
| 6. | Nd5 | Bg7 |
| 7. | Nb5 | Rb8 |
| 8. | Ndxc7+ | Kd7 |
| 9. | Qxd6# |
How the Three Knights Game: Queen Mate works
The Three Knights Game: Queen Mate is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Three Knights Game. In this line White delivers checkmate on move 9, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 d6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 g6 6.Nd5 Bg7 7.Nb5 Rb8 8.Ndxc7+ Kd7 9.Qxd6#. 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 (T. Christensen - B. Jacobsen, Aarhus 1991). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Three Knights Game: Queen 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.