Traps are important in chess and so is not falling into them. If you know them well then you can use it and also be aware of it that you don't fall into the trap. You can also have a short game sometimes when playing traps.

Englund Gambit Trap

This trap starts out with the Englund Gambit which is 1. d4 e5. This is not a recommended opening for black but something that you might see if you start with d4 and very important to understand how to move forward.

The Englund Gambit Trap is an ambitious attempt by black to lure white into making rational, but dangerous moves. Black will give up the pawn early on and then bring out his queen for a quick attack on the queenside of the board. The critical move comes after black takes with 5…Qxb2.

1. d4 e5
2. dxe5 Nf6
3. Nf3 Qe7
4. Bf4 Bb4+
5. Bd2 Qxb2

In this spot, white may be tempted to play Bc3 and attack the queen but the better move is to play Nc3.

Fishing Pole Trap

The Fishing Pole Trap is one of the easiest traps for white to fall for. Many times, grandmasters have lost to club players at the hands of the fishing pole. If a player is not familiar with the fishing pole the number of ways to hang themselves are sometimes too great and the game can end quickly.

The Fishing Pole stems from the Berlin Defense when white responds with the most common mainline move of 4. 0-0. After white castles, black has an interesting move of Ng4. This looks like an odd move because the knight has moved twice at the beginning which is usually not a good thing. The knight is also exposed on the other side of the board and looks to be very vulnerable.

White’s most logical play is to kick the knight out with h3, gaining a tempo and forcing the knight to dance around the board even more. What white doesn’t realize is that black is not going to move his knight and instead will play h5, supporting his knight and baiting white to capture. The problem for white is that if he does capture the knight the game will be lost. Black can capture with his pawn on g4, then bring his queen to h4 and there is nothing that white can do. The game will end shortly in defeat. Even if white tries to develop some of his other pieces, if he ends up taking the knight, the game will end up very bad for white. The great thing about the trap is that if it does not work out, black can simply bring his knight back to a safe square and does not lose much as far as position and development. The possibility of an easy win is usually worth taking a shot with the fishing pole.

Legal Trap

The Legal Trap derives from the Italian game where white develops his light square bishop to the c4 square on the third move, adding pressure to the d5 light square. If black responds by building his defense with d6 then white can simply go into the Legal Trap.

The Legal Trap is one of the more common traps that any chess player will come across. This is because it is found in a very common opening and none of the moves made by black look terribly bad on the surface. As we can see though, black will have to make a choice to take the bait from white and capture the queen, losing the game, or instead go down in material and fight on to see another day. Anytime a player exposes his queen, it is really hard for the other player not to take it. That is why this trap works so well. Also if they don’t take the bait, you are still in a great position.

Lasker Trap

The Lasker Trap derives from the Queen’s Gambit Declined lines and in particular, comes from the Albin Countergambit. Black immediately challenges the center by offering up his own unprotected pawn on e5. After white takes the pawn on e5, black has a few options

The most common play is simply to retake the pawn on c4, to equalize the material but at the same time, taking away any queens gambit lines that your opponent may be familiar with. The Lasker Trap, however, does not immediately take the pawn and instead pushes forward with pawn to d4. This simply move applies immense pressure on white and they are forced to deal with this thorn in their side. If white defends incorrectly he can easily fall into the Lasker Trap.