This mating pattern is called Legal's Mate after the French player François Antoine de Kermur Sire de Legall who used this "opening trap" in a famous 1750 game. In the example, White's f3-Knight is pinned to its Queen (first diagram above) but it captures the pawn on e5 anyway with 1.Nxe5, letting Black's Bishop capture the Queen seemingly for free: 1...Bxd1. The rest is all forced: 2.Bxf7 Ke7 (second diagram above) followed by 3.Nd5#.
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When we started adding a playful touch to chess learning, we looked through thousands of videos and hundreds of books to find the best resources out there. Here's our curated selection of the best content we encountered on Legal's Mate. We also included some smaller creators who are growing fast and we believe deserve your attention. Check out these resources if you want to master this checkmate pattern.
Another excellent chess book from a truly passionate master. Jeremy Silman breaks down complex patterns with incredible clarity. Whether you're a novice or an intermediate, this book is a must-have.
This book and the second in the series are a classic. A must for all beginners and intermediates. Bruce Pandolfini put together 400+ short “openers” that grant almost immediate victory to those who know them. Legal's Trap included.
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