Philidor's Legacy

Philidor's legacy is sacrificing the queen on g8 to drag the rook there and then delivering a smothered mate with the knight. It is one of chess's most famous combinations.

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Start
Pieces
Queen + knight
Level
Advanced
Mating side
White
Also known as
philidor matı, vezir fedası boğulmuş mat, philidor's legacy

Moves

1.Qg8+ Rxg8 2.Nf7#

1.Qg8+! The queen is protected by the h6 knight, so the king can't take it; Black must play 1...Rxg8. Now the rook on g8 walls in the king: 2.Nf7 smothered mate.

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How to recognise Philidor's Legacy

  • The king is in the corner with its pawns unmoved.
  • The queen sacrifice decoys the rook onto the king's escape square.
  • The knight shuttles between h6 and f7 to mate.

How to defend

  • With the king in the corner, avoid clogging its back-rank squares (g8).
  • Chase away or capture knights heading for h6 and f7.
Philidor's Legacy: the final position

Frequently asked questions

Why is it called Philidor's legacy?

It is named after the great 18th-century master François-André Danican Philidor, though it appears in much older books too.

What is the first move of the combination?

It usually starts with a knight check; here the position is set, so it begins directly with the queen sacrifice 1.Qg8+.

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Similar checkmate patterns

  • Smothered Mate — In a smothered mate every square around the king is occupied by its own pieces and a single knight gives mate.
  • Arabian Mate — The Arabian mate is a rook and knight mating a king in the corner.
  • Greco's Mate — In Greco's mate a bishop covers g8 from afar while a queen or rook checks down the h-file and mates the cornered king.

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