c. 1750 (possibly 1787) · Paris, Café de la Régence

Légal’s Trap: the 18th-century mate that started at the Café de la Régence

Légal’s Trap is an 18th-century opening trap in the Philidor school of Paris, named after Sire de Légal, champion of the Café de la Régence. White sacrifices a knight with 5.Nxe5!! after 4…g6?, and mates with 7.Nd5#. The game is usually dated about 1750 and told as a legend in its details.

Date: c. 1750 (possibly 1787)
Place: Paris, Café de la Régence
Players: Légal (White) vs Saint-Brie (Black)
Result: Mate in 7 if Black walks into the trap
Opening: Italian Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Bg4 4.Nc3)
On Chess History: You play Légal, coached by Philidor on the harpsichord

Play the story Interactive: the moves, the characters, the endings to find.

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Bg4 4.Nc3 g6 5.Nxe5 Bxd1 6.Bxf7+ Ke7 7.Nd5#

The trap works only after 4…g6?. Against 4…Nf6! Black is fine, and 5.Nxe5? fails to 5…Bxd1 6.Bxf7+ Ke7 7.Nd5+ Nxd5 (about −4.2 for White).

The Café de la Régence

In eighteenth-century Paris the Café de la Régence was where the best players met. Légal (1702–1792) was one of its champions, and he taught the young Philidor, who later became the best player of his century and also a composer of operas.

The trap is part of that school: a clean-looking knight sacrifice that the opponent accepts without seeing the mate. The course shows Légal’s way to play it, and how the trap is avoided.

Why Black walks in

After 4…g6? the Black bishop on g4 is attacked by nothing, and the knight on e5 looks free. 5.Nxe5!! gives the knight, and if Black takes the queen with 5…Bxd1?? the king is exposed: 6.Bxf7+ Ke7 7.Nd5#.

The sound defence is 4…Nf6!, after which the trap does not work. The history is honest about the doubts: most books give 4…h6 rather than 4…g6 in the trap, and the game may have been played at a rook’s odds.

Questions and answers

What is Légal’s Trap?

An opening trap in the Italian Game: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Bg4 4.Nc3 g6? 5.Nxe5!! and 7.Nd5# after a series of forced moves.

Who was Légal?

Sire de Légal (1702–1792), a champion of the Café de la Régence in Paris, and the teacher of Philidor.

Is the story true?

The game is usually dated about 1750, and some details are disputed. Chess History tells it as a legend, and the moves are checked by an engine.

Sources and checks

Légal–Saint-Brie, Paris c.1750 (traditional score)
Philidor’s school and the Café de la Régence
Engine check on this site: Stockfish 17 (depth 22)

The moves on this page are checked for legality, and the engine evaluations come from Stockfish 17. Where a game is more legend than fact, the story says so.