smothered mate

American  

noun

Chess.

1. checkmate delivered by a knight when the king's mobility is restricted by his own pieces.

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smothered mate British  

noun

1. chess checkmate given by a knight when the king is prevented from moving by surrounding men

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Etymology

Origin of smothered mate

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

Eventually yearn to execute a perfect smothered mate.

From Slate

In the scenario, player A can win against player B with the well-known five-move “smothered mate” sequence but supposedly can also win more quickly with a three-move sequence.

From Scientific American

Conversely, when the smothered mate was not viable, the players’ gazes shifted to regions of the chessboard crucial to the swifter strategy.</p>

From Scientific American

In some of these experiments the scientists presented master chess players with a virtual board that had two solutions: They could achieve checkmate with a well-known five-sequence move called smothered mate or with a much swifter three-step solution.

From Scientific American

The players were told to reach checkmate as quickly as possible, but once they recognized the smothered mate as a possibility they became seemingly incapable of noticing the more efficient strategy.

From Scientific American