Final position — White delivers mate
Anastasia's Mate
White wins in 14 moves by checkmate. (50 Opening Traps,Part 1 - Anastasia's Mate - C80 - https://lichess.org/@/CHESSLUCAFD)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bb5 | a6 |
| 4. | Ba4 | Nf6 |
| 5. | O-O | Nxe4 |
| 6. | Re1 | Nc5 |
| 7. | Nc3 | Nxa4 |
| 8. | Nxe5 | Nxe5 |
| 9. | Rxe5+ | Be7 |
| 10. | Nd5 | O-O |
| 11. | Nxe7+ | Kh8 |
| 12. | Qh5 | d6 |
| 13. | Qxh7+ | Kxh7 |
| 14. | Rh5# |
How the Anastasia's Mate works
The Anastasia's Mate is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Ruy Lopez. In this line White delivers checkmate on move 14, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.Re1 Nc5 7.Nc3 Nxa4 8.Nxe5 Nxe5 9.Rxe5+ Be7 10.Nd5 O-O 11.Nxe7+ Kh8 12.Qh5 d6 13.Qxh7+ Kxh7 14.Rh5#. 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 (50 Opening Traps,Part 1 - Anastasia's Mate - C80 - https://lichess.org/@/CHESSLUCAFD). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Anastasia's 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.