abcdefgh

Final position — Black delivers mate

King's pawn opening

King's Pawn Opening: Bishop Mate

Black wins in 11 moves by checkmate. (50 Opening Traps,Part 1 - what, checkmate? - B00 - https://lichess.org/@/CHESSLUCAFD)

The moves

1.e4 Nc6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Nc3 Bxf3 6.Nxd5 Bxd1 7.Nxc7+ Kd8 8.Nxa8 Bxc2 9.Bf4 Nxd4 10.Nc7 e5 11.Bxe5 Bb4#
1.e4Nc6
2.d4d5
3.exd5Qxd5
4.Nf3Bg4
5.Nc3Bxf3
6.Nxd5Bxd1
7.Nxc7+Kd8
8.Nxa8Bxc2
9.Bf4Nxd4
10.Nc7e5
11.Bxe5Bb4#

How the King's Pawn Opening: Bishop Mate works

The King's Pawn Opening: Bishop Mate is a classic chess opening trap arising from the King's pawn opening. In this line Black delivers checkmate on move 11, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 Nc6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Nc3 Bxf3 6.Nxd5 Bxd1 7.Nxc7+ Kd8 8.Nxa8 Bxc2 9.Bf4 Nxd4 10.Nc7 e5 11.Bxe5 Bb4#. 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 (50 Opening Traps,Part 1 - what, checkmate? - B00 - https://lichess.org/@/CHESSLUCAFD). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the King's Pawn Opening: 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.

More King's pawn opening traps

← Browse all chess traps