Legal's Mate

A queen sacrifice that leads to a stunning knight checkmate.

Philidor Defense Italian Game sidelines

Key Positions

The setup: Black's bishop on g4 pins the knight, but f7 is weak

5.Nxe5! — the sacrifice begins (Bxd1?? is the trap)

Checkmate! After 5...Bxd1?? 6.Bxf7+ Ke7 7.Nd5#

Nxe5! Sacrifice the queen — if Black takes with Bxd1??, the king is caught in a mating net.
Bxf7+ Ke7 The bishop rips open f7, forcing the king to e7.
Nd5# The second knight delivers checkmate — Ke7 has no escape squares.
Look for this pattern whenever the opponent pins your Nf3 with ...Bg4 and f7 is unguarded.

...Nxe5! The refutation: capture the knight with the c6 knight, not the bishop!
After ...Nxe5, Black is simply up a pawn with a great position.
Be suspicious when your opponent 'hangs' the queen — always look for tactics.
Avoid greedy captures: if taking the queen seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Legal's Mate teaches a crucial lesson: greed kills. When a strong player offers their queen, look for the hidden tactic before grabbing it.

Question 1 of 3

After 5.Nxe5, what is Black's correct response?