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smothered mate

noun

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


smothered mate

noun

  1. chess checkmate given by a knight when the king is prevented from moving by surrounding men
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of smothered mate1

First recorded in 1815–25
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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.

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

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.

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.

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