I see all those names of trap here and I guess I will have to look them up.

The 6.Bg5 line of the sicilian najdorf?

The Sicilian Alpine variation . . . Trassasch trap of the Ruy Lopez and Ponziani . . . Fishing pole trap . . . Albin counter gambit trap . . . Mortimer trap . . . The spike opening . . . Kansas city shuffle trap.

In 1961 I had the pleasure of executing the Legal's mate to a club member that deserved to be mated by it. I can still see him with a cigarette in his hand how pompous he was all the time.

I teach beginning chess and I do have to show them how to defend to the easy mates at f2 and f7 so it won't happen to them.

I'd like to see that naked lady trap that Misha posted about!

Thanks for the post

DENVER

I think when I first started playing traps were fun because it a way to apply something I'd learned from a book.  It is hard to take a newbie and teach him theory in the opening, if you first haven't built that nessasary foundation that applied study leads to better chess. 

I think learning traps is one of the best way for new players to apply what they have learned from study.

the worse chess trap is if the organizers places a very sexy, sometimes half naked lady in front of you while playing. and that really makes me, and did make me lose.


no kidding, the sicilian alpine variation, trassasch trap of the ruy lopez and ponziani are the most tricky i'v faced.

A trap is a tactic, and when we talk about that, we can't forget the 6.Bg5 line of the sicilian najdorf. A mine field it is.

While I'm not sure if Legall's mate counts as a trap or not, I'm sure it would be a thrill to pull it off on someone.

My opponent was thrilled to pull it off on me anyway =P.

I like the Fishing Pole trap because it's just ridiculous.

I have a lot of trouble remembering sequences of moves in openings, etc. It's the way my brain is wired, I guess.

So, studying traps is fun for me as a memory device. It's a challenge to me to see if I can remember the pitfalls and sequences of moves. It also trains me something about tactics and what to watch out for.

I've had a fair amount of success with the albin counter gambit trap, and even if people don't fall for it....that gambit leads to fairly sharp and interesting games.

Traps can be fun, whether or not the opponent falls for them.

A win's a win, but if I open up a chess trap and they fall for it, especially when it involved sacrificing pieces, then it always makes a memorable game afterwards :)

And btw, my favourite traps are the Mortimer Trap and the spike opening.

I love my kansas city shuffle trap!