Setting Up A Trap - Chess Forums

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Sort: Eugen Dec 17, 2007 0 #1

What makes chess so interesting besides millions of different variations, brilliant combinations, and beautiful mating patterns? Of course - cute traps! Setting up a trap is not an easy task. It involves certain risks: sometimes you have to sacrifice a pawn, waste a move or give up initiative and if your opponent discovers your trap you are risking to lose your pawn or initiative in vain.

However if he falls for your trap, you'll regain twice as much! Have you ever set up a successful trap? Share it here! Let me start with a few traps in my own games on chess.com:

In this situation I am setting up a trap by moving

the knight to e3 as though I wanted to attack white's pawn at c2.I am enticing my opponent to attack my passed pawn and move his king to f2.

Here is another trap: black attacks white's bishop and I move my rook behind the bishop. The bishop is pinned now and I entice my opponent to attack it by his pawns.

A trap in French defence: my knight is pinned and I move my bishop to unpin it. My opponent thinks I do it in order to prevent the possible doubling of pawns...

sk8erkid Dec 17, 2007 0 #2 wow najdorf-inactive Dec 17, 2007 0 #3 I really liked the last one, good job! Eugen Dec 18, 2007 0 #4 ScorpionC wrote:

Lol, you can't pin your own piece, it's called "defended".

No, you must have misunderstood me. Since both of us are not English-speaking users, I thought you must understand me easily:) I meant something different: in example 2 I move my rook behind the bishop on purpose. I not only defend it but also make it pinned.

Yes, and your example is very nice.

PS. I have demonstrated only successful traps of mine. But here is one awful!:

Here is an unsuccessful trap from the game I lost just now:I thought I would win an exchange here, but I missed the obvious move: rook takes bishop!

Great chess players always advise: look behind the obvious. I am trying to follow this advice so much, that I have stopped noticing the obvious:)

Eugen Dec 20, 2007 0 #5 Yes, you are right: in this very example I was caught in my own trap Andrewxie50 Feb 14, 2022 0 #6 Bam Log In or Join Forums Hot Topics Unanswered -- Category -- Most Recent What are your rating goals for 2026? Mark12291229 14 min ago Ruy Lopez is the best opening, change my mind BlunderThunder67 30 min ago Does Chess.com use Bots as Players on their live Games? overbehind 32 min ago Check out Doraemon_is_legend 39 min ago Proof that chomping on hanging pieces will get you to 2400 blitz HangingPiecesChomper 41 min ago Blunder Watch Mickdonedee 45 min ago Player with 60k games = 1200 Elo how is this even possible? MrChatty 45 min ago Capture the Queen Mickdonedee 55 min ago 1.e4 e5 2.Ke2?! shreyansh_091 56 min ago What's ur biggest ever tilt? GMlightining2200 1 hr ago Forum Legend Following New Comments Locked Topic Pinned Topic