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Final position — Black delivers mate

Alekhine's defence

Knight and Bishop Mate

Black wins in 9 moves by checkmate. (50 Opening Traps,Part 1 - Knight and Bishop Mate - B02 - https://lichess.org/@/CHESSLUCAFD)

The moves

1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.exd5 Nxd5 4.Nge2 Nc6 5.g3 Bg4 6.Bg2 Nd4 7.Bxd5 Qxd5 8.Nxd5 Nf3+ 9.Kf1 Bh3#
1.e4Nf6
2.Nc3d5
3.exd5Nxd5
4.Nge2Nc6
5.g3Bg4
6.Bg2Nd4
7.Bxd5Qxd5
8.Nxd5Nf3+
9.Kf1Bh3#

How the Knight and Bishop Mate works

The Knight and Bishop Mate is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Alekhine's defence. In this line Black delivers checkmate on move 9, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.exd5 Nxd5 4.Nge2 Nc6 5.g3 Bg4 6.Bg2 Nd4 7.Bxd5 Qxd5 8.Nxd5 Nf3+ 9.Kf1 Bh3#. 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 - Knight and Bishop Mate - B02 - 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

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