20 March 1804 (disputed) · Malmaison

Napoleon’s King Hunt: Napoleon vs Madame de Rémusat, 1804, and the king walk

Napoleon’s King Hunt is a legendary game from 1804, said to be played by Napoleon Bonaparte against Madame de Rémusat at Malmaison. Napoleon wins with 14.Qd3#, after the black king walks from e8 to d4. Historians doubt the game; it is told here as a legend.

Date: 20 March 1804 (disputed)
Place: Malmaison
Players: Napoleon Bonaparte (White) vs Madame de Rémusat (Black)
Result: 1-0 in 14 moves (disputed)
Opening: Irregular opening (1.Nc3 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.e4 f5)
On Chess History: You play Napoleon, who coaches you through his “best” game

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

The moves

1.Nc3 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.e4 f5 4.h3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 Nc6 6.Nfg5 d5 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Qf3 Nh6 9.Nf6+ Ke7 10.Nxd5+ Kd6 11.Ne4+ Kxd5 12.Bc4+ Kxc4 13.Qb3+ Kd4 14.Qd3#

After 6…d5! Black wins a piece. The moves 8…Nh6?? and 11…Kxd5?? are the losing errors; 8…Qe7! was the defence.

The legend

The story is set at Malmaison in 1804. Napoleon, then First Consul, played against Madame de Rémusat, one of Joséphine’s ladies-in-waiting. Historians say the game is of very doubtful authenticity: H. J. R. Murray called it so in 1913, and Napoleon.org dates it to 20 March 1804, with doubts.

Madame de Rémusat wrote in her memoirs that Napoleon “did not play well, and never would observe the correct moves”. The two did play; the game is the disputed part.

The king walk

The game’s joke is the black king, which walks from e8 to d4 by captures and checks. 11…Kxd5?? is the move that starts the walk, and 14.Qd3# finishes it in the centre of the board.

The course shows the moves that lose for Black, including 6…d5! and the piece that Black wins after it, and 8…Qe7! as the defence Black missed. The lesson is about the danger of a king in the open.

Questions and answers

Did Napoleon really play this game?

The game is disputed. The score is considered of doubtful authenticity by historians, and Chess History tells it as a legend.

Who was Madame de Rémusat?

A lady-in-waiting to Joséphine, and the author of memoirs in which she describes Napoleon’s chess.

What is the mate?

14.Qd3#, after the black king walks to d4.

Sources and checks

Napoleon.org (the Malmaison date, with doubts)
H. J. R. Murray (1913), on the game’s authenticity
Madame de Rémusat’s memoirs
Engine check on this site: Stockfish 17

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.