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Paris, 18th century

Légal's Mate

Sire de Légal – Saint Brie · 1-0

Result: 1-0
Moves: 7
Opening: Philidor Defense
The names end at: 3. Bc4

Watch it on the map Final position on the map

The story

The French master Sire de Légal, Philidor’s teacher, played this game in Paris against Saint Brie, giving him the odds of a rook. It is usually dated 1750, though 1787 is more likely.

Black pins White’s knight to the queen with ...Bg4, and White moves the knight anyway: 5. Nxe5!. If Black takes the queen, 6. Bxf7+ Ke7 7. Nd5# mates with three minor pieces.

The trap is objectively flawed — Black could win a piece instead of taking the queen — but it still catches players today, and the mating pattern is known as Légal’s mate.

Légal's Mate: the map where the opening names end — The position where the game leaves the named openings, with every game of the next four moves around it.

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Bg4 4.Nc3 g6 5.Nxe5 Bxd1 6.Bxf7+ Ke7 7.Nd5# 1-0

Through the openings

Source of the moves: en.wikipedia.org

More famous games

The Opera GameMorphy, Paris 1858Playing from a box at the opera, Morphy mates his two opponents in 17 moves. The Immortal GameAnderssen, London 1851Anderssen gives up both rooks, a bishop and his queen, then mates with the minor pieces he has left. The Evergreen GameAnderssen, Berlin 1852Anderssen sacrifices his queen and mates with a bishop; more than 170 years on, the game is still fresh. The Game of the CenturyD. Byrne – Fischer, New York 1956Thirteen-year-old Bobby Fischer gives up his queen and wins. Kasparov's ImmortalKasparov – Topalov, Wijk aan Zee 1999A rook sacrifice on move 24 starts a hunt that chases Black's king across the whole board. Deep Blue Beats KasparovDeep Blue – Kasparov, New York 1997The last game of the first match a computer won against the world champion, over in 19 moves. The Game Spassky ApplaudedFischer – Spassky, Reykjavik 1972Fischer almost never opened 1.c4; here he did, and at the end even Spassky joined the applause. The Octopus KnightKarpov – Kasparov, Moscow 1985Kasparov's knight digs in on d3 and paralyses White; that match made him world champion. Botvinnik's Bishop SacrificeBotvinnik – Capablanca, AVRO 1938Botvinnik beats former world champion Capablanca with a bishop sacrifice on move 30.