Final position — White delivers mate
Italian Game: Mate in 6
White wins in 6 moves by checkmate. (Hartlaub - Rosenbaum, Frieberg 1892)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bc4 | f6 |
| 4. | Nh4 | g5 |
| 5. | Qh5+ | Ke7 |
| 6. | Nf5# |
How the Italian Game: Mate in 6 works
The Italian Game: Mate in 6 is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Italian Game. In this line White delivers checkmate on move 6, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 f6 4.Nh4 g5 5.Qh5+ Ke7 6.Nf5#. 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 (Hartlaub - Rosenbaum, Frieberg 1892). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Italian Game: Mate in 6 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.