Named form
Smothered Mate
A knight mates a king whose escape squares are all occupied by its own pieces.
A checkmate delivered by a knight against a king whose escape squares are all occupied by its own pieces. The king cannot flee, and the knight’s check cannot be blocked or captured.
Boundary
A smothered mate is a mating motif distinguished by the complete obstruction of the king by its own pieces.
It is not:
- a back-rank mate, which is delivered along the back rank by a rook or queen, not by a knight;
- a knight check that the king can answer by moving to an available square.
The classic form, in which a queen is sacrificed to force the king’s own pieces to seal its escape, is known as Philidor’s Legacy.