Mates-in-Two: Smothered and Semi-Smothered
Mates-in-Two: Smothered and Semi-Smothered by, Mrs Jessica E Prescott (aka BoundingOwl)Hi kids! Do you remember the Venus Fly Trap Mate? You snap the trap shut onto the king, sacrificing your pieces along the way. Then usually a knight gives checkmate. The king is smothered by his own pieces!
These are all going to be checkmate in two moves. Can you trap the king?
1. White to move. Your first move looks like a helper mate, but really you are sacking your queen. Once you've lured the black queen away you have a smothered mate with your knight!
2. White to move. Decoy the rook to g8 to trap his own king.
3. White to move. A knight and bishop work well to trap the king.
TRAPPED!
4. Black to move. Almost the same exact pattern as number 1!
5. Black to move. It looks like a back rank first. Then exploit (take advantage of) the pin.
6. Black to move. Hm, if only you could get a knight to f2....
Remember: Material isn't everything. Checkmate is! You can give up your queen if there's a checkmate coming up!
Tip: When you castle, don't stuff your king into the corner and trap him with your rook. The king likes to breathe a little, too.