Figure 6.2.14.1[White to move]

The Smothered Mate.

Here is the idea behind the smothered mate in simplest form. Black’s king is paralyzed on its square; White’s knight, which can exert its pressure through the wall of pieces surrounding the king, delivers the fatal blow Nf7#. In these patterns the king typically is constrained in roughly this fashion by some combination of its fellow pieces and the edge of the board.