10 Chess Moves You Have To Play Before You Die

What is happiness? Some people believe it's finding true love. Others seek it by excelling in their careers. But for those who know what truly moves human nature, happiness lies in playing uniquely satisfying chess moves.

Below are the 10 best chess moves you must play before your time on Earth expires. It doesn't matter where you come from or where you are—play these moves, and you'll have lived a happy and fulfilling life. 

You can also check out this video talking about the moves:

1. The Smothered Mate

Forget about money; forget about fame. Deliver a smothered mate, and you'll experience genuine fulfillment. Proudly having your mighty stud single-handedly make your opponent's army look like fools is what true power looks like. 

Though this mating pattern is not the most common, play enough chess, and you'll definitely have a chance to use it. Here's one of our members, @HessianWarrior, showing us how it's done:

2. The En Passant Checkmate

Somewhere deep inside the virgin forests of Vietnam lives one of the rarest creatures on Earth: the saola. Also known as the Asian unicorn, it is critically endangered. To this day, scientists have only categorically documented this elusive creature in the wild on four occasions. 

Equally as rare but vastly more enchanting is the en passant checkmate. Few are the lucky ones who will have the privilege of witnessing such an awe-inspiring move in the wild, let alone play it themselves. 

And to prove to you that anyone can receive the gift of an en passant checkmate, I leave you with a game played by our member @likebrando.

3) The Underpromotion

It's hard to tell what's more satisfying: Getting promoted where you work or getting an underpromotion in chess to work for you. 

Of course, anyone can produce eight knights to ridicule poor Martin. However, I'm talking about ultra-precise underpromotions. The ones that save you from stalemating or give you one crucial tide-turning tempo. That, my friends, is worth more than a thousand queens. 

Our member @CrackLionIX can attest to that:

4. The Rosen Trap

Let me tell you a little secret. When loving caregivers offer the "it's not only about winning" advice, they don't always mean it. Sometimes, it is all about winning—unless you're talking about the Rosen Trap. In this case, drawing can feel even better than victory itself. 

So, the next time you're desperately moving your helpless king and wondering why chess has to be so cruel, remember this: If you do pull a Rosen Trap, you'll have a whole new appreciation for the game. 

5. The Windmill

When I was just starting to play chess as an adult, a Chess.com lesson left me mesmerized by the windmill. A tactic so devastating that it should be named after something much less adorable. Since then, I've been chasing more windmills than Don Quixote.

Ironically, I always find myself enacting a twisted version of Cervantes' novel. Instead of mistaking windmills for monsters, I'm actually searching for windmills, but I always end up with nothing but ghosts.

Fortunately, some chess players have seen a windmill up close. Here's a game played by our member @Jimmy720 featuring a knight and bishop windmill.

6. The Lefong

While I advise you to stay away from the darkness, I do understand that many people still flirt with the prospect of playing dirty. Yes, a time will come when you want to cross the line—if only to see what it feels like.

My advice? Try the Lefong—premoving Bh6 and Bg7 (or equivalent) to leverage your opponent's premoves in the opening in case they fianchetto their bishop. It's one of the oldest and lowest trickeries you can pull when playing bullet time controls. And when you either win a game out of pure luck or sadly stare at the square where your bishop once lived, you'll still be able to say: "Well, at least I did it."

7. The Bishop And Knight Checkmate

What should you do the next time you have two pawns about to promote? Definitely do the irresponsible thing and get yourself a bishop and a knight. Why? Because you can.

But what if you can't? Then you should head to our Endgames page and learn how to do it. And then you'll join the likes of GMs Daniel Naroditsky and Aman Hambleton and our member @LeeEuler.

8. The Bongcloud

I need to be honest. I feel weird writing about this. Everything I have to say makes me sound like one of the bad kids you've been warned about. But I guess I'll do it anyway.

Go ahead, try the Bongcloud! It's a lot of fun. Come on, all the cool kids are doing it. Don't you want to be cool, too? Give it a try. I promise it'll feel really good. Come on, just this once!

Ok, I'll stop now.

9. Checkmate By Castling

Castling to protect the king is (hopefully) common practice in your games. However, casting as an act of aggression is rarer but immensely satisfying. Forget about stars aligning. When you see the enemy king aligning with your rook along the d- or f-files, you won't need to see anything else for quite a few days. Trust me, I know:

10. Chain-Premoving Checkmate

Finally, the last part of this article is not about the what but the how. Many would argue that we have no say in what happens in the future. But chess players can sometimes bend the laws of time and become the masters of their destiny. 

Premoving a long sequence of moves that lead to checkmate is a privilege only online chess can provide—and one you should pursue.

And when you do have the chance to deliver this mate, there's only one way to do it. Premove as fast as you can, sit back, relax, and enjoy the inebriating and lethal dance of your pieces unfolding right before your third eye. 

Chase The Moves

Now that you have a new goal in life (at least you should), it's time for you to chase these moves. Though some are incredibly rare, if you play enough chess, you'll eventually have the opportunity to play them, even if you're not a master. 

So grab a snack and a beverage, go to our Play page, and start crossing those moves off your bucket list.

Which moves have you already crossed off your bucket list? Let us know in the comment section below, and feel free to share the game where it happened!