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TacticsPlay as white

Double Check and Smothered Mate

Two checks at once cannot be blocked — and a king boxed in by its own pieces cannot survive one.

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Introduction

Against a single check you have three answers: move the king, block, or capture the checker. Against a double check only one remains — the king must move. That is what makes the double check the most forcing move in chess, and it is what makes the smothered mate possible.

Lesson Content

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The white queen on d3 is aiming at h7 along the b1-h7 diagonal, with White's own knight on e4 in the way. The black king is on h7. Whatever the knight does, the queen starts checking — and if the knight also attacks the king, there are two checks at once — which no single move can answer, so the king has to walk into whatever White has waiting.

Double CheckDiscovered Attack
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1. ..Nf6+

Double check: the knight on f6 attacks h7 and the queen on d3 attacks it as well. Black cannot block and cannot capture both — the king has to go to h8.

Double Check
Alternative Moves
Ng5+ — This is also a double check, but from g5 the knight lets the king run to g8 and out via f8. The knight must cover the escape squares, not just check.
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2. Qh7#

Checkmate. The queen is defended by the knight on f6, and that same knight covers g8 — the king's last square.

Double CheckMating Net
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A smothered mate is the same idea taken to its conclusion: the king on h8 is hemmed in by its own pawns on g7 and h7, so a knight on f7 would be checkmate — if only the g8-square were also blocked. Black's bishop on e6 can be persuaded to block it.

Smothered Mate
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3. Rf8+

The rook offers itself on f8. Black's only answer is 1. ..Bg8, blocking with the bishop — and that fills the last free square around the king.

Smothered MateSacrifice
Alternative Moves
Rf3 — Chasing the black knight on e3 throws away the forced smothered mate: Black gets in first with 1...Rd1+, and Nf7 never comes.
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3. ..Nf7#

Checkmate — the smothered mate. Every square around the black king is occupied by a black piece, and nothing can reach f7.

Smothered Mate
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The white rook on g1 is aiming up the g-file at the black king, with White's own pawn on g6 in between. Which move opens the file and gives a second check at the same time?

Double Check
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Why can a double check never be answered by a capture or a block?

Double Check

Key Takeaways

  • A double check forces a king move — nothing else is legal.
  • The checking pieces have to cover the escape squares, not just give check.
  • Smothered mate: a knight mates a king that its own pieces have boxed in.

Now play it through

Step through every move on a real board, try the wrong ones, and ask Knighty why they fail.

Practice Interactively

Related Lessons

Clearance and Interference

Deflection and Decoy

Sacrifice and King Attack

Summary

A double check is the one move your opponent cannot answer with material. Look for it whenever one of your pieces stands in front of a rook, bishop or queen that is aimed at the enemy king — and when that king is surrounded by its own pieces, look for the knight.

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Next in this course

Mating Patterns

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