10 smothered mates rated between 1200 and 1399, averaging 1275. Each position below is from a real game, with the solution given underneath — so you can check yourself immediately rather than guessing whether you were right.
A smothered mate is delivered by a knight to a king boxed in entirely by its own pieces. It nearly always arrives via a queen sacrifice that forces a rook or pawn onto the last free square.
These are pitched at 1200-rated players. Puzzle ratings work like player ratings: a puzzle rated 1200 is one that players around 1200 solve about half the time, so if you are getting most of these you should move up a band.
Solving from a page is good for pattern recognition but not for tracking progress. The rated puzzle trainer serves puzzles matched to your own rating and adjusts as you solve, and the Mistake Trainer builds puzzles from positions you actually got wrong in your own games.
Nf6#
Nf3#
Qa1+ Nb1 Na2#
Qh1+ Ng1 Nh2#
Nd6#
Nxd6#
Nxd6#
Nd6#
Na3#
Nd6#
Train smothered mate puzzles at your rating →
A smothered mate is delivered by a knight to a king boxed in entirely by its own pieces. It nearly always arrives via a queen sacrifice that forces a rook or pawn onto the last free square.
Puzzle ratings work like player ratings. A puzzle rated 1200 is one that players rated around 1200 solve roughly half the time. The puzzles on this page average 1275, so they suit 1200-rated players.
Yes. Every puzzle on this page, including its solution, is free to view with no account. The rated trainer that tracks your progress and serves puzzles matched to your rating is part of Chess Ramp Premium.