Final position — Black delivers mate
Petrov's Defence: Back-Rank Mate #2
Black wins in 11 moves by checkmate. (Stafford Gambit Traps - Punishing Natural Development - C42 - https://lichess.org/@/nhatduy)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nf6 |
| 3. | Nxe5 | Nc6 |
| 4. | Nxc6 | dxc6 |
| 5. | Nc3 | Bc5 |
| 6. | Bc4 | Ng4 |
| 7. | O-O | Qh4 |
| 8. | h3 | Nxf2 |
| 9. | Qf3 | Nxh3+ |
| 10. | Kh1 | Nf2+ |
| 11. | Kg1 | Qh1# |
How the Petrov's Defence: Back-Rank Mate #2 works
The Petrov's Defence: Back-Rank Mate #2 is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Petrov's defence. In this line Black delivers checkmate on move 11, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nc6 4.Nxc6 dxc6 5.Nc3 Bc5 6.Bc4 Ng4 7.O-O Qh4 8.h3 Nxf2 9.Qf3 Nxh3+ 10.Kh1 Nf2+ 11.Kg1 Qh1#. 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 (Stafford Gambit Traps - Punishing Natural Development - C42 - https://lichess.org/@/nhatduy). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Petrov's Defence: Back-Rank Mate #2 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.