All chess openings

Chess opening traps

Short, forcing lines that punish a natural-looking mistake — Légal's Mate, the Fishing Pole, the Blackburne Shilling, the Elephant Trap, Noah's Ark. They are worth knowing from both sides: half of these positions turn up in club games every week, and the player who recognises the pattern first usually wins on the spot.

11 openings

• Légal Trap (C41) — Hang the queen on purpose and mate with three minor pieces
• Fried Liver Attack (C57) — Sacrifice a knight on f7 and march the black king up the board
• Blackburne Shilling Gambit (C50) — Offer a free pawn and mate on move seven when White takes it
• Elephant Trap (D51) — The d7-knight looks pinned. It isn't, and White loses a piece finding out.
• Lasker Trap (D08) — An underpromotion to a knight — on move seven
• Noah's Ark Trap (C71) — Three pawns walk forward and the Spanish bishop simply never gets out
• Englund Gambit Trap (A40) — Throw a pawn away on move one and mate on c1 eight moves later
• Fishing Pole Trap (C65) — Dangle a knight on g4 and open the h-file when White bites
• Siberian Trap (B21) — Accept the Smith-Morra, ignore the attacked knight, and mate on h2
• Magnus Smith Trap (B57) — The Dragon fianchetto is one move too early and the queen falls
• Scholar's Mate (C20) — The four-move mate — worth knowing so it never happens to you