Opening traps

48 chess opening traps you should know: Légal, Noah's Ark, Blackburne, Lasker and many more, explained move by move.

33. Fried Liver Attack: Main Line (6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6 8.Nc3 Nb4) – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6 8.Nc3 Nb4 9.Qe4 c6 10.a3 Na6 11.d4
34. Fried Liver: 8...Ne7 Defence – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6 8.Nc3 Ne7 9.d4 c6 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bxe7 Bxe7 12.O-O-O
35. Fried Liver: 8...Nd4 Counterattack – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6 8.Nc3 Nd4 9.Bxd5+ Kd6 10.Qf7 Be7 11.Ne4+ Kd7 12.c3
36. Traxler: 5.Bxf7+ Ke7 6.Bb3 – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Ke7 6.Bb3 Rf8 7.O-O d6 8.c3
38. Fried Liver: the 7...Ke7 Mistake – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke7 8.Bxd5 Be6 9.Bxc6 bxc6 10.Qxc6
7. Open Variation: Punishing the Blunder 8...Nxe5? – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Nxe5 9.Nxe5 Bb7 10.Re1 Be7 11.Nd2
10. Exchange Variation: how to answer 4...bxc6 – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.Nxe5 Qe7 6.d4 d6 7.Nf3 Qxe4+ 8.Be3 Nf6 9.O-O Be7 10.Re1
20. Mistake 9...Bg4?: take the bishop with hxg4 – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Bg4
29. Berlin: Punishing the Mistake 5...exd4?! – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 exd4 6.Re1 d5 7.Nxd4 Bd7 8.Bxc6 bxc6 9.f3
30. Refuting the Mortimer Trap (4...Ne7) – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Ne7 5.Nc3 c6 6.Bc4 Ng6 7.d4 exd4 8.Qxd4
34. Marshall Attack: the Imprecise Retreat 11...Nf6 – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 Nf6 12.d4 Bd6 13.Re1 Ng4 14.g3
39. Anti-Marshall: Punishing the Stubborn Attempt 8...d5?! – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.h3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 12.d4
42. Steinitz: the e5 Push against the Weak Pawns – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bd7 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.O-O Be7 8.Bxc6 bxc6 9.Qf3 O-O 10.e5
45. Modern Steinitz: Punishing the Blunder 6...Nxe4? – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c3 Nf6 6.d4 Nxe4 7.d5 b5 8.Bc2
48. Arkhangelsk: the Premature 7...Na5 – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O b5 6.Bb3 Bb7 7.c3 Na5 8.Bc2 Nxe4 9.Re1 d5 10.d3 Nf6 11.Nxe5
53. Schliemann: the Reply 4...Nf6 and the Pinned e4 Pawn – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.exf5 e4 6.Qe2 d5 7.d3 Bxf5 8.dxe4
55. Cozio Defence: the Mate Threat Nf6# – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nge7 4.Nc3 g6 5.d4 exd4 6.Nd5 Bg7 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bf6
60. The Noah's Ark Trap: How to Avoid It and Win – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.d4 b5 6.Bb3 Nxd4 7.Nxd4 exd4 8.c3 dxc3 9.Qd5 Be6 10.Qc6+ Bd7 11.Qxc3
8. Najdorf: punishing 7.Nf5?! with 7...d5! – 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nf5 d5 8.Bg5 d4 9.Ne2 Bxf5
16. Dragon: punishing the premature 9.Bh6? – 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 O-O 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.Bh6 Bxh6 10.Qxh6 Nxd4
21. Sveshnikov: punishing the 9.Naxb5? sacrifice – 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Naxb5 axb5 10.Bxb5 Bd7 11.Bxf6 gxf6
Classical - Punishing the mistake 5.Bc4? – 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Bc4 Bxe4
1. Fried Liver Attack (6.Nxf7! Shock Sacrifice) – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6 8.Nc3
2. Noah's Ark Trap (Trapping the Ruy Lopez Bishop) – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.d4 b5 6.Bb3 Nxd4 7.Nxd4 exd4 8.Qxd4 c5 9.Qd5 Be6 10.Qc6+ Bd7 11.Qd5 c4
3. The Fishing Pole Trap (Deadly h-file Kingside Attack) – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Ng4 5.h3 h5 6.hxg4 hxg4 7.Nh2 Qh4
4. Blackburne Shilling Gambit (Smothered Mate in 7 Moves) – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Nxe5 Qg5 5.Nxf7 Qxg2 6.Rf1 Qxe4+ 7.Be2 Nf3#
5. Caro-Kann Smothered Mate (The Deadly 6.Nd6#) – 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Qe2 Ngf6 6.Nd6#
6. Mortimer Trap (The Berlin Defense False Retreat) – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Ne7 5.Nxe5 c6 6.Bc4 Qa5+ 7.Bd2 Qxe5
7. Halosar Trap (Blackmar-Diemer Queen Ambush) – 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Qxf3 Qxd4 6.Be3 Qb4 7.O-O-O Bg4 8.Nb5
8. Owen Defense Fool's Mate (8.Bg6# Disaster) – 1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Bd3 f5 4.exf5 Bxg2 5.Qh5+ g6 6.fxg6 Nf6 7.gxh7+ Nxh5 8.Bg6#
9. French Winawer Queen Trap (Trapping the Infiltrator) – 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4 Qc7 8.Qxg7 Rg8 9.Qxh7
10. Siberian Trap (Smith-Morra Gambit 9...Nd4!) – 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bc4 Qc7 7.O-O Nf6 8.Qe2 Ng4 9.h3 Nd4
11. The Elephant Trap (Queen's Gambit 6...Nxd5!) – 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nbd7 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Nxd5 Nxd5 7.Bxd8 Bb4+ 8.Qd2 Bxd2+ 9.Kxd2 Kxd8
12. Rubinstein Trap (Queen's Gambit Bishop Pin Disaster) – 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 O-O 6.Nf3 Nbd7 7.Rc1 a6 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Bd3 c6 10.O-O Re8
13. Budapest Smothered Mate (The Immortal 8...Nd3#) – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Bf4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bb4+ 6.Nbd2 Qe7 7.a3 Ngxe5 8.axb4 Nd3#
14. Lasker Trap (Albin Countergambit Underpromotion 7...fxg1=N+!) – 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 d4 4.e3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 dxe3 6.Bxb4 exf2+ 7.Ke2 fxg1=N+ 8.Rxg1 Bg4+
15. Englund Gambit Queen Mate (8...Qc1# Disaster) – 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 4.Bf4 Qb4+ 5.Bd2 Qxb2 6.Bc3 Bb4 7.Qd2 Bxc3 8.Qxc3 Qc1#
16. Magnus Smith Trap (Sicilian Pin Destruction) – 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bc4 g6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.e5 dxe5 9.Bxf7+ Kxf7 10.Qxd8
17. Trompowsky Bishop Snare (Punishing 2...c5) – 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 c5 3.d5 Qb6 4.Nc3 Qxb2 5.Bd2 Qa3 6.Rb1 a6 7.Rb3
18. From's Gambit Fool's Mate (Bird's Opening 5...Bg3#) – 1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.Nf3 g5 5.h3 Bg3#
19. Monticelli Trap (Bogo-Indian Bishop Pair Trap) – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 c5 5.Bxb4 cxb4 6.g3 O-O 7.Bg2 d5
20. Sicilian Pin Trap (Crushing the Pin on d4) – 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5
Trap: 4...Nxe4?? 5.Qa4+ – 1.e4 c5 2.c3 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.dxc5 Nxe4 5.Qa4+ Bd7 6.Qxe4
Scholar's Mate: 2...Nc6 3.Qh5 Nf6?? 4.Qxf7# – 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Qh5 Nf6 4.Qxf7#
Trap: 7.a3 Ngxe5 8.axb4?? Nd3# – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Bf4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bb4+ 6.Nbd2 Qe7 7.a3 Ngxe5 8.axb4 Nd3#
Elephant Trap – 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nbd7 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Nxd5 Nxd5 7.Bxd8 Bb4+ 8.Qd2 Bxd2+ 9.Kxd2 Kxd8
Trap: 7.e5 Nxe5?? 8.Nxe5 and 9.Bxf7+ – 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.e5 Nxe5 8.Nxe5 dxe5 9.Bxf7+ Kxf7 10.Qxd8
Trap: 4...d6 5.Bc4 Nf6? 6.e5! dxe5?? 7.Bxf7+ – 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 d6 5.Bc4 Nf6 6.e5 dxe5 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qxd8