Final position — Black delivers mate
Two Knights Defence: Back-Rank Mate #2
Black wins in 23 moves by checkmate. (Trap for common knight fork - Roman_Onoprienko (1231?) - AARAVIYPE (1166) - C57 - https://lichess.org/@/AARAVIYPE)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bc4 | Nf6 |
| 4. | Ng5 | Bc5 |
| 5. | Nxf7 | Bxf2+ |
| 6. | Kf1 | Qe7 |
| 7. | Nxh8 | d5 |
| 8. | exd5 | Nd4 |
| 9. | Bb5+ | Nxb5 |
| 10. | Kxf2 | Ng4+ |
| 11. | Ke1 | Nd4 |
| 12. | c3 | Qf6 |
| 13. | Rf1 | Qh4+ |
| 14. | g3 | Qxh2 |
| 15. | cxd4 | Qxg3+ |
| 16. | Ke2 | Nf6 |
| 17. | Qa4+ | Bd7 |
| 18. | Qc4 | Bg4+ |
| 19. | Rf3 | Bxf3+ |
| 20. | Ke3 | Bxd5+ |
| 21. | Ke2 | Bxc4+ |
| 22. | Kd1 | Bd3 |
| 23. | Nc3 | Qg1# |
How the Two Knights Defence: Back-Rank Mate #2 works
The Two Knights Defence: Back-Rank Mate #2 is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Two Knights Defence. In this line Black delivers checkmate on move 23, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kf1 Qe7 7.Nxh8 d5 8.exd5 Nd4 9.Bb5+ Nxb5 10.Kxf2 Ng4+ 11.Ke1 Nd4 12.c3 Qf6 13.Rf1 Qh4+ 14.g3 Qxh2 15.cxd4 Qxg3+ 16.Ke2 Nf6 17.Qa4+ Bd7 18.Qc4 Bg4+ 19.Rf3 Bxf3+ 20.Ke3 Bxd5+ 21.Ke2 Bxc4+ 22.Kd1 Bd3 23.Nc3 Qg1#. 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 (Trap for common knight fork - Roman_Onoprienko (1231?) - AARAVIYPE (1166) - C57 - https://lichess.org/@/AARAVIYPE). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Two Knights 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.