Final position — Black delivers mate
Smothered Mate 2.0
Black wins in 9 moves by checkmate. (50 Opening Traps,Part 1 - Smothered Mate 2.0 - E42 - https://lichess.org/@/CHESSLUCAFD)
The moves
| 1. | d4 | Nf6 |
| 2. | c4 | e6 |
| 3. | Nc3 | Bb4 |
| 4. | e3 | c5 |
| 5. | Ne2 | d5 |
| 6. | Bd2 | Qa5 |
| 7. | a3 | Nc6 |
| 8. | axb4 | Nxb4 |
| 9. | Rxa5 | Nd3# |
How the Smothered Mate 2.0 works
The Smothered Mate 2.0 is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Nimzo-Indian Defence. In this line Black delivers checkmate on move 9, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 c5 5.Ne2 d5 6.Bd2 Qa5 7.a3 Nc6 8.axb4 Nxb4 9.Rxa5 Nd3#. 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 - Smothered Mate 2.0 - E42 - 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 Smothered Mate 2.0 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.