TOP 5 Fastest Checkmates in the King's Gambit

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In this video lesson, GM Igor Smirnov shares with you the top 5 fastest checkmates in the King's Gambit chess opening, which happens after the first moves: 1.e4 e5 2.f4. These are the 5 most brutal and aggressive opening traps in the King's Gambit.
What's interesting is that GM Igor Smirnov shows you the games played by masters and grandmasters in this video. And that goes to show that even top-rated players suffer in these aggressive variations and fall victim to these deadly traps.
▬▬▬▬▬▬
► Chapters
00:00 Top 5 Fastest Checkmates in the King's Gambit
00:34 Trap-1: Evil trap in 4th move
04:20 Trap-2: Checkmating the underdeveloped army
06:50 Trap-3: King's Gambit Declined, 2...Nc6
08:26 Trap-4: Zukertort's blindfolded game
11:51 Trap-5: Brutal checkmate
14:32 Can you find the winning move?
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#IgorNation #KingsGambit #ChessTraps #OpeningTraps #CheckmateTraps

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

📗Learn the Essentials to Win Chess Games Easily Get "7 Keys to Victory" - online.chess-teacher.com/course/7-keys-to-victory/

[@edmondhuibonhoa8642]

Bravo très bien joué

[@bradburns491]

Can you do a video for black after e4 e5 d4. I keep getting this played against me I play exd 3. Qxd4 Nc3. But then the queen just runs ramshod over the board. PLEASE HELP

[@helvius000]

CoHi poph

[@resop3]

In the position White plays 1.Rf8+ Rxf8 2.Nxc7#

[@Elo-hv3fw]

correct

[@Axiomatic75]

I was looking at Nxc7+ as the first move, works too but this is much more savage.

[@edmondhuibonhoa8642]

Bravo très bien joué

[@sirarvsvaldez307]

simply KxC7 !! its not a best move . best move is Qh5+ . black is absolute losing . not Nxc7 .

[@neuvation6607]

@@sirarvsvaldez307 the king cant get to d8 in order to take the knight because once the first rook is sacrifices the queen covers that diagnol from being moved to, its a forced line

[@deadpoolchannel3353]

Solution for ending postion:rook e6 check if black captures it with pawn or with knight there will be queen e7 checkmate but if he captures it with queen then knight:c7 checkmate

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Well done!

[@deadpoolchannel3353]

Thanks

[@KSSaint]

Rook e8, check.....the only defense is rook takes e8, and then knight c7 checkmate.....

[@Titan-vi7vh]

Thank you.

[@Titan-vi7vh]

@@KSSaint this works too, thank you.

[@josephsalmonte4995]

I love how you make every opening seem *brilliant* & how hyped they get me lol. I'm going to play King's Gambit all day tomorrow & try these traps 🙂

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

[@benjkobenjki2085]

how did it go?

[@mamdouhalach3003]

lol it will never work hhhhhh because none ever protect the bon with g5 bruh..

[@igorb1896]

@@mamdouhalach3003 thats not true, i played this on 1300 elo and some guys played g5. In fact you can check this on lichess how often do players play g5 in this position.

[@ModernDayRenaissanceMan]

@@benjkobenjki2085 I tried it and no one ever makes the same moves I need to get the traps to work. Im 600 rating & I've never pulled a trap off in 250 games

[@JohnDoe-qq8et]

I dont go in with a plan. I plan and constantly adjust the plan as the board evolves. "Be formless, shapeless, like water..."

[@troychatman7652]

On social chess

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

That's deep.

[@michalnovak3466]

like Bruce Lee

[@haroldlegaspi1907]

You failed to plan, you planned to fail

[@A.Singularity]

​@@haroldlegaspi1907 as a chess player I don't have a plan, if I don't have a plan then my opponents don't know what the hell I'm thinking, and that is the best way to play chess

[@hugosuk563]

There are about a dozen ways to checkmate in this position but the quickest (M2) is rf8, rxf8, nxc7#. You remove the rook from the queen's line of sight on the d8 square by moving the rook in for a check, then ending the game with the knight.

[@carolusmagnus57]

Re6+ is very nice, too. If knight takes, there is Qe7#, else is Nc7#

[@m.kaschi2741]

@@carolusmagnus57 you mean if pawn takes right? Pawn takes Rook on e6 and than Qe7#

[@carolusmagnus57]

@@m.kaschi2741 Right. You can either take with knight or pawn and then it is checkmate on e7. If queen takes, it is Nc7#.

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

👍

[@front331]

You guys attack like Morozevich.

[@user-xu3is3bt9e]

Hi, I was hoping to find someone who would show multiple scenarios of the gambits rather than just one. You are perfect. Thank you very much for it!

[@edreusser4741]

Dude, I haven't played chess in at least 3 decades. I am a 70 year old retired engineer who stubled by chance on one of your videos and watched it. I have been watching them regularly now and I love them This puzzle is terribly obvious. Of course move the white rock next to the king, then take the pawn with the knight mates in 2.

[@fatenamaste]

wouldnt the king just take the rook tho?]

[@delafilip]

@@fatenamaste that’s defended with the rook on f1

[@julitoireneojr9587]

Thanks for the video and demo

[@beereaucrat3233]

Thanks, I'm definitely using these!

[@808JuJu]

Puzzle: D5 Knight to C7 (check), king moves to D8 (only move), knight takes rook A8, black queen checks C3, white queen takes C3, knight E6, Queen to A3, the rook defends king on E8, after sacrificing pieces, queen checkmates. (I’m sure there is a faster way but that’s what I instantly grabbed towards. Solved in about 20 seconds. Not sure why, but there’s something about the kings gambit that I just love. It’s very unorthodox end, you can always tell if a middle game or end game started with this opening. For some reason when I play kings gambit I always completely control the board even against strong opponents. It’s very easy moves to understand, gets strait to the point and is definitely an opening for intuition based players due to the fast aggression. My best games where I completely dominate were from the kings gambit. Idk it’s like when I play this opening I feel right at home, this is the ancient way of chess after all. My strongest opponent that I absolutely crushed with this opening was from a very rare line in the kings gambit where I allow my knight to be captured by the pawn in the beginning, I castle, get checked and then have a massive attack when I move my king to H1. This opening uses blacks pawn as protection for my king. Found this opening from intuition and turned out to be a real Murphy game. My opponent was rated 2100 IM, beat him in 16 moves.

[@ingogoldbeck2886]

This is the best opening have ever played. None of my opponents has played this pawn stuff, but i can Control the Center and have tons of move options. Great stuff 😊

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@huigwoudwijk6579]

I’ve been playing the king’s gambit a lot these days and I’ve got a win rate of about 90% with it! Great tips, thanks!

[@garyclarke9685]

Kings gambit it all good & all but setting a trap is one thing you still need your opponent to fall for it & in my experience they don't always do also I rarely use kings gambit when I'm playing black as your behind a move a the start & just to risky

[@ShankarHegdeAstrologer]

I love this opening! Morphy is my all time favorite player of chess. You studied morphy pretty well.

[@jamesrodriguez8830]

Another great video! Can you please make a traps & tactics in Catalan Opening. 🙏🏼😊

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Thanks for the suggestions. We will make make note of it.

[@cowslegend3974]

I swear these are the most informative chess videos out there

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Thank you!

[@Loki087]

I can't stop watching this guy's videos. He's helped renew my interest in one of the first board games I ever played.

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

I'm so happy to hear it!

[@bricknix8721]

Exactly, what I need. Thanks a lot for this good video again! 👍

[@christianbelzer]

Great! Very instructive, thanks for the work!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@nesnas]

Awesome video! Thanks!! My guess for the answer: Nxc7+ Black King would be forced into the d8 e7 diagonal which would lead to a discover check and loss of the black Q with Rf6f4+ ! Wait - not the best discover check. Here is the best: the discover check queen attack combo can also be achieved with Re6+ which I think is actually better since the check cannot be blocked by Black's Queen - whereas with Rf6f4+ the Black Q can block after Kd8 escape!.

[@badjaeaux]

14:35 got it Sir Rf8+ Rxf8, Nxc7# white Knight, Queen, and Rook was helped by black's d7 pawn and delivered a stunning mate

[@glass916]

What if Kxf8

[@badjaeaux]

white Rook at f1 :)

[@badjaeaux]

Re6+! is also mate in 2

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

well done!

[@Kingfish44755]

the move order for the last position is: 1. Rf8 + Rxf8 (forced); Nc7#

[@sungod_69]

is knight c7 king d8 followed by rook c6 a checkmate or black could get out?

[@housseinehousseine7815]

Thank you sir.

[@nayomiherath7269]

Nice I always use this trick. It is a good trick Thank you

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

► Chapters 00:00 Top 5 Fastest Checkmates in the King's Gambit 00:34 Trap-1: Evil trap in 4th move 04:20 Trap-2: Checkmating the underdeveloped army 06:50 Trap-3: King's Gambit Declined, 2...Nc6 08:26 Trap-4: Zukertort's blindfolded game 11:51 Trap-5: Brutal checkmate 14:32 Can you find the winning move?

[@julitoireneojr9587]

Thanks for the video

[@TheSeraphim75]

I wait for your videos! So entertaining & instructive! Thanks from Dubai!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Glad you like them!

[@frozencloud17]

Great stuff as always GM Smirnov!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@farouqbaiti4315]

1.Re6+ (Qxe6 2.Nxc7#[With royal fork btw]) (Nxe6 2.Qe7#) (dxe6 2.Qe7#)

[@chrisfrey659]

Hi Igor, most interesting video. allthough in the end of the fifth trap you demonstrate, you move black queen to e7, but what if black move the roock to g8 instead attacking white queen. no easy checkmate. Thanks for your teaching and comment. Best. Chris

[@raphaelhudson]

The declined trap is quite useful as that situation is very common in many kg lines . I very rarely get people playing into the McDonnell gambit or muzio sadly. It's hard to lose in blitz if you get that position for white. But what does happen a lot at lower levels is that black plays f6 defending g5. You have to be careful as tempo matters here, but in many lines Nxg5 leads to either forced checkmate or a big material advantages

[@terminatorshans]

Hi Igor, what is the follow-up with trap 5 if Black King doesnt take the bishop but moves to f8. Black is already a knight more so what will play White than?

[@paulegon552]

For the 14:35, as white I would play Nc7 check. If Black King goes to d8, then Rc6 to defend the Knight and a discovered checkmate. If Black King goes to e7, then Re6 as a checkmate as well.

[@daveanthonymesias7024]

Rf8 is the right move sac the rook to open the diagonal for queen and you take c7

[@sandu9306]

Tank you the new trcks🤗🐣👏and i ❤️❤️It very much

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

❤

[@cronoscraiss330]

good video, thx! :)

[@tomasbacalla647]

Thank you very nice move

[@rokviik304]

This isnt the fastest but Qh5+ Kd8. Rf8+ Rxf8. Rf8+ Qe8. Then either Rxe8 or Qxe8#. I later saw the M2 with Rxf8+ Rxf8. Nxc7# thanks to the queens line of sight being cleared of the rook covering the runaway squares

[@sslvsme5763]

I saw the following 2 lines, 1st: 1. Qe5+, Kd8 2. Rf8+, Rxf8 3. Rxf8+, Qe8 4. Qg5# … this line could also go like 2. Rf8+, Qe8 3. Qg5# and there are a few more variations of this… the next line I found is: 1. Qh5+, Qg6 2. Rxg6… quite obvious but let’s say they don’t take and they make any other move except d6, then Rg8# (2x Check). If it goes 2. Rxg6, d6 3. Rg7+, Kd8 4. Qg5+, Ke8 5. Qe7#… I really like the Rg8# though, if the right moves by black allowed it to happen

[@megalegendarychessgaming]

Make all variations of king's gambit checkmate video

[@shreyashchaurasia6924]

Blown my mind!

[@atheransari8038]

Very good

[@dreddnawtmettlehead2913]

Best Solution i see is Rf7... you release check but its mate in 1: ~ Black Queen takes Knight: Qe7 mate. ~ If black makes literally any other move not taking Knight, Nxc7 mate. 14:41

[@PeakPotential46]

@14:36 i could play Nxc7+ . Kd8 Rf7(discovered check from Qg5) . Kxc7 Qc5+ . Kd8 Rf8+ . Rxf8 Rxf8# After Nxc7 If Ke7 . Rf7+ Ke6 . Qf6#

[@jtdavis62]

Mate in 2 is forced: 1. Rf8+ Rxf8 2. Nxc7#

[@thomasb9225]

Rf8 Rxf8 Nc7# but even more brutal is Re6+! 3 ways to capture - all mate next move

[@badjaeaux]

awesome advanced analysis dude what is your online chess rating

[@MatthaeusRedlich]

I love this video. Thank you for that!!! 🙂 My winning moves: 1. Qh5+ Qg6 2. Rxg6 Nf3+ 3. Kf2 hxg6 4. Qxh8+ Kf7 5. Qf6+ Kg8 6. Ne7+ Kh7 7. Qxg6+ Kh8 8. Qg8# 1-0

[@Awed1b]

What if 1. Qh5+ Kd8? It seems more resolute to 1. Rf8+ RxR 2. knight C7 mate

[@Joeofawesome]

@@Awed1b Kd8 Rf8+ Rxf8 Rxf8+ Qe8 Qg5#

[@rubinconineski526]

It is very good. Thank you.

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Welcome 😊

[@toddrose4284]

Qh5. Thank you for the video. Take care.

[@STEVE_K_J]

Hey, absolutely love your videos. For trap #1, the move Nh6 by black does actually defend the threat I believe, because after white plays d4, black can play d6 which attacks the knight. The knight cant attack the f7 pawn straight away. Therefore, after Bxh6, black plays dxe5 and the attack is over.

[@philosopher24680]

According to the engine White is still winning and it's quite easy for Black to get checkmated. The counter-intuitive follow up is to trade the dark squared bishops, then check the King when he takes back. After this, lock up the Black Queen by playing the White King to F2.

[@sonipolakian4256]

Nice video chess Kings Gambit.

[@marknemuel6281]

Solution on the 5th example: Scenario 1: Nxc7 Kd8 Rc6# Scenario 2: Nxc7 Ke7 Re6#

[@michaelmassaro4375]

Good job great tips very knowledgeable

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@sidqialviandy1210]

Good tank you

[@gellivar]

Trap-2: If black had played d5 on move 6, the position would have had a value of -2.37 (depth: 27)

[@lyndonrelorcasa4108]

1. Qh5+ , Kd8 ..2. Rf8+ , Rh8 x Rf8..3. Rf1 x Rf8+ , Qe8..4. Qh5 x Qe8 # checkmate...is it right? thanks for video on traps GM Igor! More power and more winning!

[@jeremyongwenyi1144]

This move is farbulous❤❤❤

[@lotfi2815]

Amazing

[@drjaigupta]

Pretty Good Video, as usual for you. Thanks a lot Qh5+

[@jaycarrillo3915]

The best way to get a checkmate for the last one is Qh5, if black decides to move his king to d8 then you can move the rook to f8 and he is forced to trade rooks and then he has no choice but to block the rook with thier queen and you can take the queen with your queen and that is checkmate. If black decides to block the queen's check by moving the queen to g6 then you can take with your rook and if he takes your rook then you can take his h8 rook and that is checkmate. If he tries to do any other moves i have found checkmates for those too, but there is too much possible moves for me to disclose in on comment

[@ryansweezey5259]

Final position knight c7 if king moves to d8 rook to c6 checkmate. If king moves to e7 after Knight moves c7 rook moves h6 checkmate

[@MrHandsomeHimself88]

Qh5 (His king is forced to d8) Rf8 (his rook is forced to f8) Rf8 and now it’s checkmate. If he moves Qe8 to block Rf8, Qe8 and now it’s checkmate.

[@marcrob100]

At 4:53 you get a position where GM Igor Smirnov says the most played move by black is PxP. But Stockfish indicates white is actually losing to other moves - a dangerous line!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

It's a risky line indeed. However, defending the position as Black is really hard. Stockfish often evaluates a gambit to be 'bad' while in reality, people get good results with it.

[@DuncanFer1]

@@GMIgorSmirnov Hopefully we are not playing Stockfish OTB !!

[@user-en5en6cb7k]

2:58 Kf7 . White response with Pawn D4 activating the Bishop if black response with Bishop G7 black can play on maybe losing a knight and bishop but capturing the knight with bishop capturing Knight

[@playandteach]

Can you help with this weakness in my game? In casual games, when I xastle queenside as whitevI very often create a massive weakness of my A pawn. I've been tying up a knight on c3, sometimes this gets pinned, but how do I avoid making this pawn a target. Moving it to A3 seems to create other problems- do I slide my king over, what other solutions are there? Thanks.

[@sonipolakian4256]

Nice video 👍👍👍

[@bijtah]

For the puzzle, does rook f8 also work? Black is forced to take, after which knight c7 is checkmate

[@Meagan-wl8zv]

So, I solved the puzzle that he gave us at the end of the video, and this is how it goes. WHTE- Qh5+, Rf8+, Rxf8+, BLACK- Kd8, Rxf8, Qe8. Now white can either capture the Queen with the Rook and it's Checkmate, or white can capture the Queen with the Queen and it's Checkmate.

[@bradbennettband]

Qh5 doesnt work. due to Qg6, blocking check. true white can go RxQ, but the mating attack is stunted... better is the forcing Rf8+ RxR, Nc7 mate

[@dominadorandres-kh6qf]

Nice move I like it ❤️

[@RikMaxSpeed]

Very enjoyable - especially with a glass of white wine on a warm summer evening - not sure all those moves will stick in my head though!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

It was worth it anyway 😎

[@namedperson1436]

Lovely video. I'd say there is a lot of fun lines that open up after knight c7 thanks to the discovered check after the rook moves (the black king has to move to either e7 or d8) after which a rook to e6 wins the queen for at worst a knight. But taking the rook in the corner and keeping the threats on the board is also playable even for an amateur like me. I think of all the fun alternatives, knight c7 starts most of it.

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

True, that wins the game. That said, playing Rf8+ first makes the following Nc7 to be a checkmate.

[@namedperson1436]

@@GMIgorSmirnov That is also true, and it is generally preferred to win the games instead of being greedy in capturing pieces. Or so I've heard at least. :P

[@aliuzzamanbiswas3265]

after Queen takes e4 then white will play Knight takes c7 check then King d8 Rook f8 King takes c7 Queen to c5 check King b8 and Queen takes c8 is a Brilliant Checkmate.

[@sampadpolley9004]

3:00 Knight h6 then we play d4 After black play to d6 then what we do ???

[@thebroccoli6076]

I wanna ask too

[@sonipolakian4256]

Nice video

[@anotherdude4180]

Hi Igor, hi all! First things first: Thank you for producing all these videos, I really enjoy them a lot. That being said, I have a problem. Lately I stumbled upon a video of yours about Caro Kann Breyer with 3.Nf3, dxe4 4.Ng5 and can't find it anymore! Can anyone help? Thanks!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Unfortunately, I'm not sure which video you're looking for, but you may find this gambit against the Caro-Kann to be interesting: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKqkXmyBrJpjfpY

[@anotherdude4180]

@@GMIgorSmirnov Thanks for your reply. As always I mixed things up. The video was produced by Jonathan Schrantz. Best wishes for you (and all of us)!

[@r.j.v.d.b5228]

after that smothered mate with the pony I was like Aahhwww Lorrddd have mercy on that beautiful move

[@rastydc2191]

Trap 2 . Awesome

[@rayleighsilvers5768]

Qh5+ Kd8 (If Black Queen protect rock take Queen) Rf8+ Rxf8 Rxf8+ Qe8 Q or Rxe8 #

[@edmondhuibonhoa8642]

Bon. Mais, il y a mieux. Rf8 Rxf8 Kxc7

[@davidlamarca899]

Great great and great💪👌👍👍

[@slshree1103]

3:27 what if d3 or c3 creating an escape square for the king?

[@richardlambert3238]

NxP! any black response sets up the loss of black's queen to the Rook on f6 which is moved to attack black's queen while the black king is exposed to check.

[@jackingle5208]

1. Rf8, RxR 2. Nc7+ mate

[@themadcatter2750]

Is it Qh5+, Kd8, Rf8+, Rf8, Rf8#?

[@jonathanwitt7849]

I love the kitty sleeping in the background :)

[@santanubiswas86]

Dear sir, all techniques are good, when the opponent is not strong. We shall be thankful if you kindly share the tough technique and moves of the chess to defend strong opponent. Thanking you, Yours faithfully,

[@captjuanco5766]

LMAO

[@sandu9306]

I ❤️❤️your king videos tanks 👏🤘👍🙃🙃🤠🤠🤑

[@larissamueller6834]

also Rf7 must win. maybe Knight c7 or if black knight like to block it with Knight e6 than Queen e7 mate. or if knight goes to b5 to stop it, than Re7 with folloing mate.

[@agpaok0704]

before I see the comments, I end it up for solution at the last game, moving queen to f4 and then in varius scenarios I made in my mind I again ended killing the king. But for sure, the rook e6 is the correct no doubt.

[@baconbitz7804]

What do you do if they go bh4 instead of nf6 in the first trap

[@manashgoswami9615]

These r amazing

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@sevoo1579]

wow so awesome ! best chess chanel !

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Thanks! 😃

[@johnmarsvenus3414]

2 reasons why I watch your vids: 1. to improve my chess gameplay 2. to watch your cat at the background

[@pourygin9496]

14:37 Re6+

[@rainerausdemspring894]

Excellent - as usual. By the way the "u" in Zukertort = Zuckertort = sugar pie should be pronounced like the "oo" in rook. I have no idea how his fathers name Jankiel Ezechiel Cukiertort was pronounced. It was not uncommon for Jews to adopt an artificial German name especially when they converted to the Christian religion as Zukertort's father did.

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

That's interesting, thank you for the insights!

[@D_M4N8]

Trap 4 @ 9:17

[@pedroavelino671]

First, congratulations for the video. 👏👏👏 The puzzle: Qh5+ Kd8 Rf8+ RxRf8 RxRf8+ Qe8 Qg5# Correct?

[@jtdavis62]

Or mate in 2: 1. Rf8+ Rxf8 2. Nxc7#

[@mohammedodis5946]

Great videos, to play open minded.

[@muhammadaliarianto4723]

For trap 1, how about if black play kc6 instead of qh4?

[@ndnow12]

How do you beat pawn d6 at 3:04?

[@suivzmoi]

3:06 actually Nh6 is the best move followed by d6 so both Knights will be lost and there is no more checkmate. although White is winning to avoid this trap, black must trade queens at the early stage.

[@noonefromnowhere99]

for the last one: Qh5+, Kd8, Rf8, rxf8, rxf8#. I think that's right.

[@Dread-Bear]

Don't really know chess short hand but knight to c7 forces their king to d8 or e7, then rook to c6 discovered check from the queen and mate I believe..

[@tomswiftyphilo2504]

the king can take the knight, no?

[@KtaThartea]

No the king cant take knight, Rook c6 will defend but Black Qween can block White Queen.....then it is not checkmate