Chessy
The Légal Trap (Légal's Mate)
One of the oldest traps in chess: White offers the queen, Black greedily takes it — and gets mated in two. In the position below your opponent just played 5...Bxd1, snatching the queen. Find the mate against the engine.
Punish the Légal Trap against the engine
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Create a free account →How the trap springs
From 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6 4.Nc3 Bg4 — Black pins the f3-knight to the queen — White plays the shocking 5.Nxe5!. It looks like White just hung the queen to the pin. If Black believes it and grabs the queen with 5...Bxd1??, the punishment is forced and immediate.
The mate: Bxf7+ and Nd5#
After 5...Bxd1, Stockfish confirms mate in two: 6.Bxf7+ Ke7 7.Nd5#. The bishop check drags the king out to e7, and the knight delivers the mate — three minor pieces overwhelming the stranded king while Black's freshly-won queen sits uselessly on d1. The whole point: you sacrificed the most valuable piece and still won by force.
Why it works
The pin on the g4-bishop is an illusion of safety. 5.Nxe5 works because Black's king has no escape squares and the c4-bishop already rakes f7. Taking the queen removes the only piece that could interfere with the mating net. It's the purest lesson in chess: material means nothing if your king gets mated.
How to avoid it (as Black)
Don't take the queen. After 5.Nxe5, the correct reply is simply 5...Nxe5 (or 5...dxe5), recapturing the piece — then 6.Qxg4 leaves White only a pawn up and Black very much alive. The trap only punishes the greedy 5...Bxd1. The rule to remember: when a strong opponent appears to hang their queen, stop and ask what you're missing.
Results across 60,205 Lichess games
| Most-played continuation | Games | White wins |
|---|---|---|
| Bxf7+ | 60,035 | 99.9% |
| Nxf7 | 109 | 21.1% |
| Nd5 | 15 | 0.0% |
| Nxc6 | 13 | 0.0% |
| Kxd1 | 8 | 25.0% |
| Bd5 | 6 | 0.0% |
Frequently asked questions
What is the Légal Trap?
A classic opening trap from 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6 4.Nc3 Bg4 5.Nxe5!, where White sacrifices the queen — and if Black takes it with 5...Bxd1??, White mates with 6.Bxf7+ Ke7 7.Nd5#.
Is the Légal Trap sound?
Only if Black takes the queen. Best is 5...Nxe5, recapturing, after which White is at most a pawn up. So 5.Nxe5 is a practical try that wins on the blunder 5...Bxd1, not an objective refutation.
How do you defend against the Légal Trap?
After 5.Nxe5, recapture with 5...Nxe5 instead of grabbing the queen. The pin isn't worth more than your king's safety — never take material when your monarch is exposed.
Who was Légal?
Sire de Légal was an 18th-century French master and the teacher of Philidor; the trap and the 'Légal's Mate' pattern are named after him.