Tactics & checkmates
Smothered mate
Smothered mate is a knight checkmate in which the enemy king is trapped by its own pieces. The knight attacks over those pieces. Famous combinations involve a queen sacrifice, but such a sacrifice is not part of the definition.
A practical example
Black has a king on h8, rook on g8 and pawns on g7 and h7. A white knight on f7 gives check. If no black piece can capture the knight, all the king’s escape squares are occupied by friendly pieces.
A common mistake
Copying a familiar sacrifice without checking it. If the king can capture instead of the rook, or an escape square remains open, the apparent mating pattern may fail.
Try this in your next review
Check every escape square and every possible capture of the knight first. Then work backwards to see whether forcing moves can create the required blockade.
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