Légal’s Mate

The game, move by move

Café de la Régence, 1750

1. 1. e4 King’s pawn The oldest game in this list by a century. Légal was the best player in Europe and taught Philidor; this is the trap that carries his name.
2. 1… e5 The same claim
3. 2. Bc4 The bishop, straight at f7
4. 2… d6 Solid, and passive
5. 3. Nf3 Out, hitting e5
6. 3… Bg4 The pin that is not a pin The bishop pins the knight to the queen, and Black settles in behind it. The pin is real; what is not real is the idea that a pinned knight cannot move.

The queen is left there

1. 4. Nc3 A third piece out White quietly adds an attacker to e5 and says nothing about the pin.
2. 4… g6 A wasted move And this is the one that loses. Black had to deal with the threat to e5 and instead made room for a bishop.
3. 5. Nxe5 The knight moves anyway Taking the pawn and abandoning the queen. If Black takes the knight instead of the queen, White is simply two pawns up — so Black takes the queen.
4. 5… Bxd1 The queen, taken And it is losing. Three white pieces are looking at f7 and e7, and the black king has not moved.

Légal’s mate

1. 6. Bxf7+ Check, with the bishop The pawn is worth nothing; the tempo is worth the game.
2. 6… Ke7 The only square Kxf7 walks into Nd5 all the same, and the king on e7 is worse.
3. 7. Nd5# Checkmate A knight, a knight and a bishop, and the black king is boxed in by his own pieces on d8, e8 and f8. White is a queen down and has been since move five.