Final position — White delivers mate
Italian Game: Back-Rank Mate
White wins in 9 moves by checkmate. (Wall - Kerazag, Internet 1996)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bc4 | Nh6 |
| 4. | d4 | Bd6 |
| 5. | Bg5 | f6 |
| 6. | Bxh6 | gxh6 |
| 7. | Nxe5 | fxe5 |
| 8. | Qh5+ | Kf8 |
| 9. | Qf7# |
How the Italian Game: Back-Rank Mate works
The Italian Game: Back-Rank Mate is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Italian 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.Bc4 Nh6 4.d4 Bd6 5.Bg5 f6 6.Bxh6 gxh6 7.Nxe5 fxe5 8.Qh5+ Kf8 9.Qf7#. 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 (Wall - Kerazag, Internet 1996). 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: Back-Rank 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.