Nice checkmate missed in a game.

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Ajedrecista
Posts: 2213
Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2011 9:04 pm
Location: Madrid, Spain.

Nice checkmate missed in a game.

Post by Ajedrecista »

Hello:

I played another interesting-to-me 5+0 game today. Unlike other times, that game does not feature an apparent blunder by me that arises interesting counterplay. I had an easy game, but missed a curious, nice checkmate that I am not sure if I had seen before. I was clever enough to close the tab without saving the game, so I had to rebuild it from scratch... I might miss some shuffling and/or the order of some moves could be swapped, but the core of the game is the following:

[pgn][Event ""]
[Site ""]
[Date "2026.03.27"]
[TimeControl "300+0"]
[Result "1-0"]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Bg4 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 Nf6
6.O-O Be7 7.Nbd2 O-O 8.Qb3 b6 9.h3 Bh5 10.Ne5 h6
11.g4 Bg6 12.Nxg6 fxg6 13.Bxe6+ Kh8 14.Bc4 Nbd7 15.Nf3 c5
16.dxc5 Nxc5 17.Qc2 g5 18.Ne5 Re8 19.Nf7+
(19.Ng6+ Kh7 20.Nf8+ Kh8 21.Qh7+ Nxh7 22.Ng6# 1-0) 1-0[/pgn]

Following Ne5, black doubted what to play: Qe8 to protect g6 and avoid the fork (g6 was already protected by the white queen)? Move the queen to other 'safe' place to avoid the fork on f7? ..., Re8 was finally played and I played Nf7+ almost brainlessly to get the queen for a knight. OK, it was not a challenging game for me, but what a surprise I got with the output of SF:

[d]r2qr2k/p3b1p1/1p3n1p/2n1N1p1/2B3P1/4P2P/PPQ2P2/R1B2RK1 w - - 2 19

Code: Select all

Stockfish-18-windows-x86-64-sse41-popcnt:
[...]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 10/15	00:00	     112.792	709.383	+4,71	f2f4 Qd8c7 Ne5g6+ Kh8h7 Ng6xe7+ Kh7h8 Ne7g6+ Kh8h7 Ng6e5+ Kh7h8 Ne5f7+ Kh8g8
 10/41	00:00	     112.792	709.383	+5,14	Qc2g6 Re8f8 Qg6f5 Qd8e8 Ne5g6+ Qe8xg6 Qf5xg6 Ra8c8 b2b4 Nc5d7 Bc4e2 Be7d6
 10/16	00:00	     112.792	709.383	+5,51	b2b4 Qd8c7 Ne5g6+ Kh8h7 Ng6xe7+ Nc5e4 Bc4g8+ Nf6xg8 Qc2xc7 Ng8xe7 Qc7c2 Ra8c8 Qc2b3
 10/11	00:00	     112.792	709.383	+5,59	b2b3 Qd8b8 Ne5f7+ Kh8g8 Qc2g6 Kg8f8 Nf7xh6 Qb8h2+ Kg1xh2
 10/26	00:00	     112.792	709.383	+5,93	Ne5g6+ Kh8h7 Qc2f5 Qd8d7 Ng6f8+ Kh7h8 Nf8xd7 Nc5xd7 Bc4d5
 10/21	00:00	     112.792	709.383	+6,12	Qc2f5 Qd8c7 Ne5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xg5+ Kg8h8 Ng5f7+ Kh8g8
 10/32	00:00	     112.792	709.383	+9,13	Ne5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xd8+ Kg8h8 Nd8f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xh6+ Kg8h8 Nh6f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xg5+ Kg8h8 Qc2c3
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 11/21	00:00	     173.599	680.780	+4,92	f2f4 Qd8c7 Ne5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xg5+ Kg8h8 Ng5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7e5+ Kg8h8 Ne5g6+ Kh8h7 Ng6xe7+ Kh7h8 Ne7g6+ Kh8h7 b2b4
 11/21	00:00	     173.599	680.780	+5,14	Qc2g6 Re8f8 Qg6f5 Qd8e8 Ne5g6+ Qe8xg6 Qf5xg6 Ra8c8 b2b4 Nc5d7 Bc4e2 Nd7e5
 11/28	00:00	     173.599	680.780	+5,30	b2b3 Qd8c7 Ne5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xg5+ Kg8h8 Ng5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7e5+ Kg8h8 Ne5g6+ Kh8h7 Ng6xe7+ Nf6e4 Ne7d5 Qc7d6 b3b4 Ra8c8 Nd5f4 g7g6 b4xc5 Rc8xc5 Bc1b2
 11/25	00:00	     173.599	680.780	+5,83	b2b4 Qd8c7 Ne5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xg5+ Kg8h8 Ng5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7e5+ Kg8h8 Ne5g6+ Kh8h7 Ng6xe7+ Nf6e4
 11/21	00:00	     173.599	680.780	+6,45	Qc2f5 Qd8c8 Ne5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xh6+ Kg8h8 Nh6f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xg5+ Kg8h8 Ng5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7e5+ Kg8h8 Ne5g6+ Kh8h7 Ng6xe7+ Qc8xf5 Ne7xf5 Re8c8
 11/26	00:00	     173.599	680.780	+9,84	Ne5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xd8+ Nc5e6 Bc4xe6+ Kg8h8 Nd8f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xh6+ Kg8h8 Nh6f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xg5+ Kg8h8 Ng5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7e5+ Kg8h8 Ne5g6+ Kh8h7 Ng6xe7+ Kh7h8
 11/33	00:00	     173.599	680.780	+M4	Ne5g6+ Kh8h7 Ng6f8+ Kh7h8 Qc2h7+ Nf6xh7 Nf8g6+
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 12/17	00:00	     205.065	634.876	+5,16	f2f4 Nf6e4 Ne5f7+ Kh8h7 Nf7xd8 Ra8xd8 f4xg5 h6xg5 Qc2g2 Be7f6
 12/35	00:00	     205.065	634.876	+5,79	b2b3 Qd8c7 Ne5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xg5+ Kg8f8 Qc2h7 Be7d6 Qh7h8+ Kf8e7 Qh8xg7+ Ke7d8 Qg7xf6+ Kd8c8 Ng5f7 Bd6h2+ Kg1h1 Nc5e4
 12/15	00:00	     205.065	634.876	+5,83	b2b4 Qd8c7 Ne5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xg5+ Kg8h8 Ng5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7e5+ Kg8h8 Ne5g6+ Kh8h7 Ng6xe7+ Nf6e4
 12/19	00:00	     205.065	634.876	+6,15	h3h4 Nc5e4 Ne5f7+ Kh8h7 Nf7xd8 Ra8xd8 b2b4
 12/22	00:00	     205.065	634.876	+6,28	Qc2f5 Qd8c8 Ne5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xh6+ Kg8h8 Nh6f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xg5+ Kg8h8 Ng5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7e5+ Kg8h8 Ne5g6+ Kh8h7 Ng6xe7+ Qc8xf5 Ne7xf5 Ra8d8 Nf5d4
 12/15	00:00	     205.065	634.876	+9,84	Ne5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xd8+ Nc5e6 Bc4xe6+ Kg8h8 Nd8f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xh6+ Kg8h8 Nh6f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xg5+ Kg8h8
 12/8	00:00	     205.065	634.876	+M4	Ne5g6+ Kh8h7 Ng6f8+ Kh7h8 Qc2h7+ Nf6xh7 Nf8g6+
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 13/53	00:01	   1.452.304	992.010	+5,85	h3h4 Nc5e4 Ne5f7+ Kh8h7 Nf7xd8 Re8xd8 h4xg5 h6xg5 f2f3 Ra8c8 f3xe4 Nf6xg4 Qc2e2 Rc8xc4 Qe2xc4 Be7d6 Qc4e2 Kh7g8 Qe2xg4 Bd6h2+ Kg1xh2
 13/20	00:01	   1.452.304	992.010	+5,90	b2b4 Nc5e4 Ne5f7+ Kh8h7 Nf7xd8 Ra8xd8 f2f3 Be7xb4 f3xe4 Re8xe4 Ra1b1 g7g6 Rb1xb4
 13/50	00:01	   1.452.304	992.010	+6,01	Bc1d2 Nc5e4 Ne5f7+ Kh8h7 Nf7xd8 Ra8c8 Nd8e6 Rc8xc4 Qc2xc4 Ne4xd2 Qc4c2+ Nf6e4 Kg1g2 Kh7h8 Rf1d1 Kh8g8 Rd1xd2 Ne4xd2
 13/30	00:01	   1.452.304	992.688	+6,03	b2b3 Nc5e4 Ne5f7+ Kh8h7 Nf7xd8 Ra8xd8 Ra1b1
 13/27	00:01	   1.452.304	992.688	+6,15	Qc2f5 Qd8c8 Ne5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xh6+ Kg8h8 Nh6f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xg5+ Kg8h8 Ng5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7e5+ Kg8h8 Ne5g6+ Kh8h7 Ng6xe7+ Qc8xf5 Ne7xf5 Ra8d8 b2b4 Nc5e4 Nf5d4 Kh7h8
 13/22	00:01	   1.452.304	992.688	+10,30	Ne5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xd8+ Nc5e6 Bc4xe6+ Kg8h8 Nd8f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xg5+ Kg8h8 Ng5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7e5+ Kg8h8 Ne5g6+ Kh8h7 Ng6xe7+ Nf6e4 Qc2xe4+ Kh7h8
 13/8	00:01	   1.452.304	992.688	+M4	Ne5g6+ Kh8h7 Ng6f8+ Kh7h8 Qc2h7+ Nf6xh7 Nf8g6+
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 14/28	00:02	   2.131.333	1.049.400	+5,78	h3h4 Nf6e4 Ne5f7+ Kh8h7 Nf7xd8 Ra8xd8 f2f3 g5xh4 b2b4 h4h3 b4xc5 Be7xc5 f3xe4 Re8f8 Rf1xf8 Rd8xf8 Qc2e2 Rf8f4
 14/19	00:02	   2.131.333	1.049.400	+6,05	b2b4 Nc5e4 Ne5f7+ Kh8h7 Nf7xd8 Ra8xd8 f2f3 Be7xb4 f3xe4 Kh7h8 Ra1b1 a7a5 Rb1xb4
 14/22	00:02	   2.131.333	1.049.400	+6,07	Bc1d2 Nc5e4 Ne5f7+ Kh8h7 Nf7xd8 Ra8c8 Nd8e6 Rc8xc4 Qc2xc4 Ne4xd2 Qc4c2+ Nf6e4 Kg1g2 Kh7h8
 14/38	00:02	   2.131.333	1.049.400	+6,35	b2b3 Nc5e4 Ne5f7+ Kh8h7 Nf7xd8 Ra8xd8 f2f3 Be7b4 f3xe4 Nf6xe4 a2a3 Bb4c3 Ra1a2 Kh7h8 Bc4d3 Rd8xd3 Qc2xd3 Ne4g3 Kg1g2 Ng3xf1 Qd3xf1 Re8c8 Bc1b2 Bc3xb2 Ra2xb2
 14/25	00:02	   2.131.333	1.049.400	+7,01	Qc2f5 Be7d6 Ne5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xd8+ Kg8f8 Nd8f7 Bd6c7 Nf7h8
 14/19	00:02	   2.131.333	1.049.400	+M9	Ne5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xd8+ Kg8h8 Nd8f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7e5+ Nf6d5 Bc4xd5+ Nc5e6 Bd5xe6+ Kg8h8 Ne5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xg5+ Kg8h8 Qc2h7+
 14/8	00:02	   2.131.333	1.049.400	+M4	Ne5g6+ Kh8h7 Ng6f8+ Kh7h8 Qc2h7+ Nf6xh7 Nf8g6+
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[...]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 21/52	00:24	  27.019.872	1.116.108	+6,32	Bc1d2 Nc5e4 Ne5f7+ Kh8h7 Nf7xd8 Ra8xd8 Bd2c3 Kh7h8 Bc4b5 Re8f8 Bc3xf6 Ne4xf6 Ra1d1 Be7d6 Rd1xd6 Rd8xd6 Kg1h1 Nf6d5 Rf1d1
 21/44	00:24	  27.019.872	1.116.108	+6,43	f2f3 Qd8d5 Ne5g6+ Kh8g8 Rf1d1 Qd5e6 b2b4 b6b5 Bc4xe6+ Nc5xe6 Qc2b3 Kg8h7 Ng6xe7 Re8xe7 Bc1b2 Ra8f8 Rd1d2 Nf6d7 Ra1f1 Nd7b6 Qb3d3+ Kh7g8 Qd3xb5 Re7f7 Qb5c6
 21/42	00:24	  27.019.872	1.116.108	+6,52	b2b4 Nc5e4 Ne5f7+ Kh8h7 Nf7xd8 Ra8xd8 f2f3 b6b5 Bc4d3 Rd8c8 Bd3xe4+ Nf6xe4 Qc2xe4+ Kh7g8 Bc1b2 Be7f6 Bb2xf6 Re8xe4 f3xe4 g7xf6 Ra1c1 Rc8xc1 Rf1xc1 Kg8f7
 21/41	00:24	  27.019.872	1.116.108	+6,68	b2b3 Nc5e4 Ne5f7+ Kh8h7 Nf7xd8 Ra8xd8 f2f3 b6b5 Bc4xb5 Rd8c8 Qc2g2 Re8d8 f3xe4 Rc8c3 Bc1d2 Rc3c2 Bd2a5 Rc2xg2+ Kg1xg2 Rd8c8 Bb5d3 Kh7g8 Ra1d1 Nf6d7
 21/23	00:24	  27.019.872	1.116.108	+7,07	Qc2f5 Nf6d5 Ne5g6+ Kh8h7 Ng6xe7+ Kh7h8 Ne7g6+ Kh8h7 b2b4 Nc5a4 Bc4xd5 Qd8xd5 Qf5xd5 Re8d8
 21/18	00:24	  27.019.872	1.116.108	+M9	Ne5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xd8+ Kg8h8 Nd8f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7e5+ Nf6d5 Bc4xd5+ Nc5e6 Bd5xe6+ Kg8h8 Ne5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xg5+ Kg8h8 Qc2h7+
 21/8	00:24	  27.019.872	1.116.108	+M4	Ne5g6+ Kh8h7 Ng6f8+ Kh7h8 Qc2h7+ Nf6xh7 Nf8g6+
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 21/52	00:38	  44.443.574	1.153.150	+6,32	Bc1d2 Nc5e4 Ne5f7+ Kh8h7 Nf7xd8 Ra8xd8 Bd2c3 Kh7h8 Bc4b5 Re8f8 Bc3xf6 Ne4xf6 Ra1d1 Be7d6 Rd1xd6 Rd8xd6 Kg1h1 Nf6d5 Rf1d1
 22/37	00:38	  44.443.574	1.153.150	+6,65	b2b4 Nc5e4 Ne5f7+ Kh8h7 Nf7xd8 Ra8xd8 f2f3 b6b5 Bc4d3 Rd8c8 Qc2b3 Re8d8 f3xe4 Kh7h8 Bc1b2 Be7xb4 Kg1h1 Bb4c5 Bb2d4
 22/37	00:38	  44.443.574	1.153.150	+6,72	f2f3 Qd8d5 Ne5g6+ Kh8g8 Rf1d1 Qd5e6 b2b4 b6b5 Bc4xe6+ Nc5xe6 Qc2b3 Kg8h7 Ng6xe7 Re8xe7 Bc1b2 Ra8f8 Rd1d2 Nf6d7 Ra1f1 Nd7b6 Qb3d3+ Kh7h8 Qd3xb5 Re7f7 Qb5c6 Nb6c4 Qc6xc4 Rf7xf3 Rf1xf3 Rf8xf3
 22/55	00:38	  44.443.574	1.153.150	+6,84	b2b3 Nc5e4 Ne5f7+ Kh8h7 Nf7xd8 Re8xd8 f2f3 Kh7h8 f3xe4 Ra8c8 Bc1b2 b6b5 Ra1d1 Be7c5 Bb2d4 Bc5xd4 e3xd4 b5xc4 b3xc4 Nf6xe4 Qc2xe4 Rc8xc4 Qe4e7 Rd8xd4 Qe7f8+ Kh8h7
 22/44	00:38	  44.443.574	1.153.150	+7,47	Qc2f5 Nf6d5 Ne5g6+ Kh8h7 Ng6xe7+ Kh7h8 Ne7g6+ Kh8h7 b2b4 Qd8f6 Ng6f8+ Kh7g8 Qf5xd5+ Kg8xf8 Bc1b2 Qf6e6 b4xc5 Qe6xd5 Bc4xd5 b6xc5
 22/16	00:38	  44.443.574	1.153.150	+M8	Ne5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7xg5+ Qd8d5 Bc4xd5+ Nc5e6 Bd5xe6+ Kg8h8 Qc2h7+ Nf6xh7 Ng5f7+ Kh8g8 Nf7e5+ Kg8h8 Ne5g6+
 22/8	00:38	  44.443.574	1.153.150	+M4	Ne5g6+ Kh8h7 Ng6f8+ Kh7h8 Qc2h7+ Nf6xh7 Nf8g6+
[pgn][Event ""]
[Site ""]
[Date "2026.03.27"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2qr2k/p3b1p1/1p3n1p/2n1N1p1/2B3P1/4P2P/PPQ2P2/R1B2RK1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[Result "1-0"]

1.Ng6+ Kh7 2.Nf8+ Kh8 3.Qh7+ Nxh7 4.Ng6# 1-0[/pgn]

Final position that I missed, including a queen sacrifice to get the checkmate:

[d]r2qr2k/p3b1pn/1p4Np/2n3p1/2B3P1/4P2P/PP3P2/R1B2RK1 b - - 1 4

There is also a longer checkmate starting with Nf7+ with some ideas of the shorter checkmate. For example:

[pgn][Event ""]
[Site ""]
[Date "2026.03.27"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2qr2k/p3b1p1/1p3n1p/2n1N1p1/2B3P1/4P2P/PPQ2P2/R1B2RK1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "15"]
[Result "1-0"]

1.Nf7+ Kg8 2.Nxg5+ Kh8 (2. ...Qd5 3.Bxd5+ Ne6 (3. ...Kf8 ({(3. ...Kh8 and the same plan for white than in other sidelines)}) 4.Qg6 1-0) 4.Qh7+ Nxh7 (4. ...Kf8 5.Nxe6+ Kf7 6.Qxg7# 1-0) 5.Bxe6+ Kh8 (5. ...Kf8 6.Nxh7# 1-0) 6.Nf7+ Kg8 7.Ne5+ Kf8 (7...Kh8 8.Ng6# 1-0) 8.Nd7# (8.Ng6# 1-0) 1-0)
3.Qh7+ Nxh7 4.Nf7+ Kg8 5.Ne5+ Qd5 6.Bxd5+ Ne6 7.Bxe6+ Kf8 (7...Kh8 8.Ng6# 1-0) 8.Nd7# (8.Ng6# 1-0) 1-0[/pgn]

There is a great variety of mating lines with the suboptimal starting move Nf7+, even with queen sacrifices some moves before the checkmate (more than in the #4). I could not let the opportunity pass and not post this position that happened in a real game, nothing composed or staged. The #4 could be a training checkmate puzzle!

To make it more computer related, SF 18 with Multi-PV = 7 took some seconds and nodes to realised that Nf7+, Kh8; Nxg5+ was a move shorter checkmate than Nf7+, Kh8; Nxd8+. Moreover, the shortest checkmate in four moves starting with Ng6+ takes around one second on Lichess with SF 11 HCE in my smartphone, which I think it is too much considering that it is a #4 and not a #8, for example.

Can somebody point to any similar checkmate, please? Thanks in advance.

Regards from Spain.

Ajedrecista.
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User avatar
Ajedrecista
Posts: 2213
Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2011 9:04 pm
Location: Madrid, Spain.

Re: Nice checkmate missed in a game.

Post by Ajedrecista »

Hello:
Ajedrecista wrote: ↑Fri Mar 27, 2026 7:18 pm[...]

Can somebody point to any similar checkmate, please? Thanks in advance.

[...]
The idea was not new at all, but I was unaware of it. I found some problems featuring that 'Qh7+ Nxh7' queen sacrifice and similar checkmate ideas with bishop and knight:
I also found an excellent problem from 1832 that combines the initial queen sacrifice like here and later R+B discovered checks like an own composition, just to finish in style:

PDB P1265439

However, SF finds a shorter checkmate idea: after 6.- ..., Kh7, simply pinning the rook and go from there: 7.- Bc2, h5; 8.- h4 (the key move instead g5), hxg4 (8.- ..., Kh6; 9.- Rh8#); 9.- Ng3, Kh6; 10.- Rh8#. But it is also true that the original source puts a condition (page 7 here: 'Der Weiße feße mit ben Bauer h3 als Bauer in 14 Zügen matt', 'White checkmates with the pawn on h3 in 14 moves), so the author intentionally says that to force the manoeuvre 7.- Bg8+, Kh8; 8.- Ba2+, Kh7; 9.- Bb1 (pinning the rook while avoiding a future check by an eventual queening by black) and the knight sacrifice on g3!

The knight sacrifice is optional since a waiting move from the rook does the job: 11.- Rf7 (also 11.- Rf4, 11.- Rf3, 11.- Rf2 or 11.- Rf1), Kh8; 12.- Bxg6, Kg8; 13.- ~ [14 possibilities: any king move (3); or knight move except Ng3 (5); or Re7 (1); or any rook move in f-file except Rf6 (5)], Kh8 (13.- ..., Kf8 possible if 13.- Re7); 14.- Rf8# (14.- Re8# if 13.- Re7). Checkmate in 14 moves with the white pawn standing on h3 square.

------------

Still, this position from the OP:

[d]r2qr1k1/p3bNp1/1p3n1p/2n3p1/2B3P1/4P2P/PPQ2P2/R1B2RK1 w - - 0 1

Is nice since B+N do all the job against so many black pieces that are useless due to the exposed king and lack of safe squares, all from a real game! For example, checkmating with Nd7# and a bishop against the pair of rooks (formerly also a queen), a bishop, a knight (formerly other knight) and some pawns, with all these pieces getting in each other's way.

[d]r3rk2/p2Nb1pn/1p2B2p/8/6P1/4P2P/PP3P2/R1B2RK1 b - - 2 7

Regards from Spain.

Ajedrecista.
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