Checkmate Flashcards: Smothered Mate

This is the 14th Checkmate Flashcards blog.  I hope we all learned what Checkmate looks like and how to accomplish it in a game.  In my opinion the Smothered Mate is the coolest.  While rare, Checkmating a King with the Knights ability to "Jump" is awesome indeed.  An otherwise safe King surrounded by friendly defenders gets assassinated.  The Knight breaks into the King's safe house like a master thief into Ft. Knox.

Here is an example of what the mate might look like:

Once again we will use our Queen as a sacrifice to create the position necessary to deliver mate.  I love a good Queen sacrifice:

I hope you went through all the possible variations in that puzzle.  Mate can be found in so many ways!  Naturally the Smothered Mate is the coolest available. 

If you aren't familiar with what checkmate looks like how can you achieve it?  We study Opening Theory and Middle Game Tactics...but why?  Because they lead us to Checkmate!  How many times have you had a computer analysis tell you that you missed a forced mate or checkmate opportunity because you didn't recognize what it looked like?  Go back through all 14 Checkmate Flashcards, being familiar with Checkmate patterns and themes will help you win!

"The end is a good place to start".