OPENING TRAPS FOR ALL

The point of chess is to attack the enemy King and checkmate the King so
that it cannot move to any square without also being attacked.
The first thing to know is how to set up a chessboard. The chessboard is
made up of an 8 square by 8 square board with alternating light (usually
White) and dark (usually Black) squares. The square to each player’s
right-hand corner must be the light-colored square.
a b c d e f g h
The board is made up of 8 ranks (horizontal squares or lines) and 8 files
(vertical squares or rows). The files are indicated by letters. The first file
is a, the second files is b, the third file is c, etc. Thus, the files are a, b, c,
d, e, f, g, h. The ranks are numbered. The first rank is 1, the second rank
is 2, the third rank is 3, etc. Thus, the ranks are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,8. The
lettering and numbering is from the White point of view at all times. Most
diagrams will have the White pieces at the bottom and the Black pieces at
the top.
From left to right, the pieces are set up on the first and eighth ranks as
rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, rook. The pawns are set
up on the second and seventh ranks. The queen must be on a square of its
own color.
White always goes first, the Black moves, and so on until the end of the
game.
The value of the pieces are 1 point for a pawn, 3 points for a knight, 3.5
points for a bishop, 5 points for a rook, and 9 points for a queen. There is
no value given to the king since it never leaves the board.
If the same absolutely identical position occurs 3 times during a game,
the game is drawn. If one player can check the enemy King indefinitely
without the player being able to prevent it, the game is drawn by perpetual
check.
If no pawns have been moved and there have been no capture for at least
50 consecutive moves, the game is drawn.
If the player cannot move any piece at all, including the king, without
being checked, the game is drawn as it is stalemate.
Algebraic notation is the official chess notation used around the world.
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Bill Wall 700 Opening Traps
Chess Notation - Algebraic Notation
The board is made up of ranks (horizontal) and files (vertical). The
reference point is always from the White point of view. So if you
are White, the ranks are labeled, from left to right, a, b, c, d, e, f,
g, h. The files are labeled, from bottom to top, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
The pieces are labeled N for knight, B for bishop, R for rook, Q for
queen, and K for king. If there is no indication of a piece, then it
is assumed the piece is a pawn.
Moving the king’s pawn up two squares on the first move would
be 1.e4. If Black plays the same move as White, then we have
1.e4 e5. If White moves his king-side knight in front of the bishop
for his second move, then we have 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3. If Black plays
his queen-side knight in front of his bishop, then we have 1.e4 e5
2.Nf3 Nc6. This would be the notation for both White or Black.
A capture is usually indicated with a “x” symbol such as Bxc6
(bishop took something that was on the c6 square).
Castling on the king-side is indicated by “O-O” and castling on the
queen-side is “O-O-O”.
A quick two-move mate would be the following:
Dummy - Wall
1.g4 e5 2.f3 Qh4 mate.
Or the opening for the Ruy Lopez, exchange variation is:
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6
It is best to keep record of all your chess games and perhaps enter
them into a database, or use your scoresheet to study what you did
right or wrong, or prepare an opening or against you opponent the
next time you play.
Chess Principles
1. Develop your pieces quickly.
2. Control the center.
3. Put your pieces on squares that give them maximum space.
4. Try to develop your knights towards the center.
5. A knight on the rim is dim.
6. Don’t take unnecessary chances.
7. Play aggressive.
8. Calculate forced moves first.
9. Always ask yourself, “Can he put me in check or win a piece?”
10. Have a plan. Every move should have a purpose.
11. Assume your opponent’s move is his best move.
12. Ask yourself, “Why did he move there?” after each move.
13. Play for the initiative and controlling the board.
14. If you must lose a piece, get something for it if you can.
15. When behind, exchange pawns. When ahead, exchange pieces.
16. If you are losing, don’t give up fighting. Look for counter-play.
17. Don’t play unsound moves unless you are losing badly.
18. Don’t sacrifice a piece without good reason.
19. If you are in doubt of an opponent’s sacrifice, accept it.
20. Attack with more that just one or two pieces.
21. Do not make careless pawn moves. They cannot move back.
22. Do not block in your bishops.
23. Bishops of opposite colors have the greatest chance of drawing.
24. Try not to move the same piece twice or more times in a row.
25. Exchange pieces if it helps your development.
26. Don’t bring your queen out early.
27. Castle soon to protect your king and develop your rook.
28. Develop rooks to open files.
29. Put rooks behind passed pawns.
30. Study rook endgames. They are the most common endgames.
31. Don’t let your king get caught in the center.
32. Don’t castle if it brings your king into greater danger.
33. After castling, keep a good pawn formation around your king.
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Bill Wall 700 Opening Traps
34. If you only have one bishop, put your pawns on its opposite color.
35. Trade pawns pieces when ahead in material or when under attack.
36. If cramped, free your game by exchanging material.
37. If your opponent is cramped, don’t let him get any freeing
exchanges.
38. Study openings you are comfortable with.
39. Play over entire games, not just the opening.
40. Blitz chess is helpful in recognizing chess patterns. Play often.
41. Study annotated games and try to guess each move.
42. Stick with just a few openings with White, and a few openings with
Black.
43. Record your games and go over them, especially the games you lost.
44. Show your games to higher rated opponents and get feedback from
them.
45. Use chess computers and databases to help you study and play
more.
46. Everyone blunders. The champions just blunder less often.
47. When it is not your move, look for tactics and combinations.
48. Try to double rooks or double rook and queen on open files.
49. Always ask yourself, “Does my next move overlook something
simple?”
50. Don’t make your own plans without the exclusion of the opponent’s
threats.
51. Watch out for captures by retreat of an opponent’s piece.
52. Do not focus on one sector of the board. View the whole board.
53. Write down your move first before making that move if it helps.
54. Try to solve chess puzzles with diagrams from books and magazines.
55. It is less likely that an opponent is prepared for off-beat openings.
56. Recognize transposition of moves from main-line play.
57. Watch your time and avoid time trouble.
58. Bishops are worth more than knights except when they are pinned
in.
59. A knight works better with a bishop than another knight.
60. It is usually a good idea to trade down into a pawn up endgame.
61. Have confidence in your game.
62. Play in as many rated events as you can.
63. Try not to look at your opponent’s rating until after the game.
64. Always play for a win.
Alapin’s Opening (1.e4 e5 2.Ne2)
Alapin’s Opening is an irregular opening, first analyzed by Carl Mayerhofer
(1828-1913) in Schachzeitung, 1849. It was later adopted by Semyon Alapin
in the late 19th century.
1.e4 e5 2.Ne2 Bc5 3.f4 Qf6 4.c3 Nc6 5.g3 Nh6 6.Bg2 Ng4 [threatening 7…
Bf2 mate] 7.Rf1? [White must play 8.d4] 7…Nxh2 8.fxe5?? [White must
return the Rook to h1] 8…Qxf1+! 9.Bxf1 Nf3 mate (Manko - Jankowitz,
Postal 1900)
1.e4 e5 2.Ne2 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.N1c3 Qa5 [4…Qc6?! 5.Ng3 g6?? 6.Bb5
Wall - Nimoy, Internet 1997] 5.d4 Nc6 6.d5 Nb4 7.Bd2? [better is 7.Ng3]
7…Bf5 8.Rc1 Bxc2 9.Rxc2 Nd3 mate (Unknown - Canal, Simultaneous
Exhibition 1935)
1.e4 e5 2.Ne2 Nf6 3.f4 exf4 4.Nxf4 Nxe4 5.Qe2 Qe7 [another idea is 5…
Qh4+ 6.g3 Qe7] 6.Nd5 Qe5 7.N1c3 c6 8.d4 Qf5 9.Nxe4 [or 9.Nc7+] wins a
piece since 9…cxd5 10.Nd6+ wins the Queen (Seibot - Luetz, St. Petersburg
1902)
1.e4 e5 2.Ne2 Nf6 3.f4 exf4 4.d3 Nc5 5.fxe5 Nc6 6.d4? [perhaps 6.Bf4]
6…Qh4+ 7.g3 Qe4 8.Rg1 Nxd4! 9.Qxd4 Qxc2 [threatening 9…Nd3+ and
9…Qxc1] 10.Nf4 Qxc1+ 11.Ke2 Nb3! 12.axb3 Bc5, winning the Rook
(Mouillaux - Matisson, French Postal 1
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Bill Wall 700 Opening Traps
Alekhine’s Defense (1.e4 Nf6)
The Alekhine’s Defense has been analyzed since the early 19th century, but did
not become popular until former world chess champion Alexander Alekhine
(1892-1946) played and promoted this hypermodern idea in 1921.
1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d6 (more common is 2…d5) 3.Bc4 Nxe4 (expecting
4.Nxe4 d5) 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe4 e5 6.Qf3 Kg8?? (Black must play 6…Ke8)
7.Ng5 (threatening 8.Qf7 mate) 7…Qf6 8.Qb3+ and White wins (Krejcik -
Gottlieb, Germany 1922)
1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 (usual us 2.e5 Nd5) 2...d5 3.e5 d4 4.c3 c5?? 5.d3, trapping
the Knight. (Iskov - Woge-Nielsen, Copenhagen 1989)
1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e5 Nfd7 4.e6!? fxe6 5.d4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.dxc5 Nxc5
8.Bb5 g6?? [overlooking White’s next move] 9.Qd4, attacking the Rook and
Knight and winning a piece (Russ - Zeh, Postal 1974)
1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.exd5 Nxd5 4.Bc4 Nb6 5.Bb3 Nc6 6.Nf3 Bg4? [Black
should try 6…e5] 7.Bxf7+! Kd7 [7…Kxf7 8.Ng5+ and 9.Qxg4] 8.Qe2 e6
9.h3 Bxf3?? [perhaps 9…Qe7] 10.Qxe6 mate (Quinteros - Goossens, 1978)
1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.exd5 Nxd5 4.Bc4 Be6?! 5.Qf3 c6 6.Nge2 g6 7.Nd4
Nxc3? [Black should play 7…Bg7 or 7…Qd7] 8.Nxe6 fxe6 9.Qxc3 Rg8 and
now White wins with 10.Bxe6 or 10.Qb3 first, then 11.Bxe6 (Stock - Rades,
Germany 1993)
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Ne4?! (best is 2...Nd5) 3.d3 Nc5 4.d4 Ne4?? 5.Bd3, winning
the Knight (Wall - Gaspar1, Internet 1996)
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.Bc4 Nf4 4.Qf3 Ng6 5.Bxf7 mate (Wall - Challee,
Internet 1996)
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.Bc4 Nb6 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.e6+ dxe6 6.Nf3 N8d7 7.Ng5+
Kf6 8.Qf3+ Ke5 9.Nf7+, winning the Queen (Wall - Hayes, Dayton 1990)
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.c5 Nd5 5.Bc4 Nb4 6.Qb3 e6 7.Qxb4,
winning the Knight (Eckley - Knudsen, Iowa 1972)
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.c5 Nd5 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 d6 7.Bg5 dxe5
8.Qb3 Nd7?? [Black should play 8…f6 or 8…Qd7] 9.Bc4, threatening
10.Bxf7 mate (Mazukewitsch - Kandaurov, Tula 1967)
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 (or 4.d4) 3...Nb6 4.d4 Nc6 5.d5 Nxe5 6.c5 Nbc4
7.f4 and White wins a piece (7...Ng6 8.Bxc4) (Borochow - Fine, Pasadena
1932)
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.d4 d6 5.Bd3 dxe5 6.dxe5 N8d7 7.e6 Nf6
(7...fxe6 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Qxg6+ hxg6 10.Bxf6 mate) 8.exf7+ Kxf7 9.Bg6+! and
10.Qxd8, winning the Queen (Wren - Mayfield, Halifax 1941)
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.Nf3 d6 4.Bc4 Be6 [usual is 4…Nb6] 5.Nf3 Nb6? [best
is 5…Nc6] 6.Bxe6 fxe6 7.Ng5 h6?? [Black should play 7…Nc6] 8.Nxe6
Qd7 9.Qh5+ g6 10.Qxg6 mate (Wren - Sprow, Boston 1944)
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.Nf3 d6 4.Bc4 Nb6 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Ng5+ Kg8 7.Qf3
(threatening 8.Qf7 mate) 7...Qe8 8.e6 h6 9.Qf7! Qxf6 10.exf7 mate (Powers
- Dake, Milwaukee 1937)
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 Nc6 4.Nf3 f6?! 5.exf6 gxf6? [better is 5…exf6] 6.c4
Nb6 7.d5 Ne5 [if 7…Nb4 8.Ne5 is strong] 8.Nxe5 and if 8…fxe5 9.Qh5 is
checkmate (Wawryk - Martel, Internet 1996)
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 e6 5.Qd3 dxe5 6.Nxe5 Qf6 7.Qg3 Nd7
8.Bg5 Qf5 9.Bd3, winning the Queen (Wall - Rasmussen, Tacoma 1970)
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.e6!? fxe6 7.Ng5 Qd7
[perhaps better is 7…e5] 8.Bd3 e5?? [Best for Black is 8…g6] 9.Qh5+ g6
10.Bxg6+ hxg6 11.Qxg6+ Kd8 12.Nf7+ Ke8 13.Nxh8+ wins the Rook
(Richter - Jurgschat, Berlin 1952)
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Bill Wall 700 Opening Traps
Basman’s Defense (1.e4 g5)
This unusual defense, also known as the Macho Grob or the Borg, has been
analyzed and played by International Master Micael Basman. One needs to
be careful of a few traps.
1.e4 g5 2.Nc3 f5?? 3.Qh5 mate (Mayfield - Trinks, Omaha 1959)
1.e4 g5 2.Bc4 Bg7 3.Qh5 e6 4.Nf3 h6 5.d3 Nf6 6.Bxg5 Nxh5 7.Bxd8 Bxb2,
winning the rook (Aaron - Wall, Internet 1996)
1.e4 g5 2.d3 h6 3.Ne2 d6 4.Ng3 Nf6 5.Bd2 Bg7 6.Bc3 h5 7.Be2 g4 8.Nd2
Nc6 9.d4 d5 10.e5 Ng8 11.Bb5 f5 12.f4 Qd7 13.Nb3 b6 14.Nxf5 Bf8
15.Qe2 a6?? 16.e6 (Inkeroinen - Heinola, Tampere 1984)
1.e4 g5 2.d4 Bg7 [2…f6?? 3.Qh5 mate, Klip - Bottema, Dieren 1990] 3.Bc4
c6 4.Bc4 c6 5.e5 d5 6.Bd3 c5 7.Bb5+ Nc6 8.dxc5 Bxe5 9.Qxd5?? Bxc3+
10.bxc3 Qxd5, winning the Queen (Kuuti - Heinola, Scandinavia 1983)
1.e4 g5 2.d4 h6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.h4 gxh4 5.Nf3 d6 6.Nxh4 Nf6 7.Bf4 c6 8.Qd2
Ng4 9.O-O-O Qa5 10.Bc4 b5 11.Nxb5 Qxd2+ 12.Rxd2 cxb5 13.Bd5,
winning the rook (Wallwork - Thornton, England 1989)
1.e4 g5 2.d4 h6 3.Bd3 Bg7 4.h4 gxh4 5.Nf3 d5 6.e5 c5 7.c3 Bg4 8.Rxh4
h5 9.dxc5 Nc6 10.e6 Bxe6 11.Ng5 Bg4 12.Qb3 Qc7 13.Qxd5 Nh6 14.Na3
Rd8 15.Nb5 Qb8 16.Qc4 Ne5 (D. MacDonald - Basman, England 1981)
1.e4 g5 2.Nf3 f6 3.d4 c6 4.Ne5 dxe5?? 5.Qh5 mate (Morin - Forscutt,
Internet 1994)
Benko Gambit (1.d4 Nf6
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Bill Wall 700 Opening Traps
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.Bg5 Ne4 5.Bf4 Qa5+ 6.Nd2 bxc4 7.Qc2 Nf6
[other ideas are 7...f5 and 7...c3] 8.e4 d6 9.Bxc4 g6 10.e5 Nh5 11.Be3 dxe5
12.d6 Bb7? [better is 12…Nd7; not 12...exd6 13.Qe4, winning the Rook]
13.Bxf7+! Kf7 [13…Kxf7 14.Qb3+ and 15.Qxb7] 14.Qb3 Bc8 [14…Bxg2
15.Bd5 Bxh1 16.Qb7+ wins] 15.Qd5, winning the rook. (Z. Polgar - E.
Ivanov, Varna 1981]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.Nc3 axb5 [or 5...Qa5] 6.Nxb5?! [6.e4
is the book move] 6…Ba6 7.e3? [7.Nc3] 7…Bxb5 wins a piece since 8.Bxb5
Qa5+ and 9…Qxb5 wins the Bishop (Kirchenhoff - Foldi, Dortmund 1986)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.Nc3 axb5 6.e4 b4 [or 6...Qa5] 7.Nb5
Nxe4 [safer is 7...d6] 8.Qe2 Nf6?? [Black must play 8…f5] 9.Nd6 mate
(Hultin - Fromme, Sweden 1992)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.Nc3 d6 6.e4 [or 6.bxa6] 6...axb5
[other ideas are 6...Qa5 and 6...Bg4] 7.Bf4 [or 7.Bxb5+] 7...b4 8.Nb5 Nxe4
[or 8...Na6] 9.Qe2 Nf6?? [9…f5 or 9…g5] 10.Nxd6 [if 10…Kd7 11.Bb5+
Nc6 12.Bxc6 mate; 11...Kc7 12.Ne8 mate] (Buggler - Guarisco, 1987)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.e3 axb5 6.Bxb5 Qa5+ 7.Nc3 Bb7
8.Bd2 [or 8.Bc4] 8...Qb6 9.Bc4 [White can also try 9.Qb3] 9...e6 10.Bc1?!
[10.Qb3 Qxb3 11.Bxb3 looks better] 10...Qb4 11.Qb3? [11.Bb5 or 11.Bd3
is best] 11…exd5 wins. If the Bishop retreats, then 12…Qxb3 13.axb3 Rxa1
wins a Rook. If 12.Qxb4 cxb4, White has two pieces hanging. (Domanski
- Schlesinger, Giessen 1991)
Benoni Defense (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6)
The Benoni Defense is characterized by Black playing c5 in a Queen’s Pawn
opening. Ben-Oni is Hebrew for “child of my sorrow” and the opening name
was coined by Aaron Reinganum in 1825 who analyzed this defense when he
was depressed.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.Nf3 g6 7.Bf4 b6 8.e4 Bg7?
[8…a6 to prevent White’s next move] 9.Bb5+ Bd7 10.Bxd6 Bxb5 11.Nxb5
Nxe4 12.Nc7+ Kd7 13.Bf4 g5 14.Nxg5 wins the Rook (Lev - Karp, Tel Aviv
1990)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 Bd6 6.e4 Bc7 7.d6 Ba5 8.e5
Ne4 9.Qg4 Nxc3 10.Qxg7 Ne4+ 11.Ke2 win the Rook since 11…Rf8 fails
to 12.Bh6 (Van Gisbergen - Lupu, Cappelle 1994)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 Bd6 6.e4 g6 7.Nf3 Bg4 8.Be2
Qe7 9.O-O Nxe4?? [9…Bg7] 10.Qa4+ Nd7 11.Qxe4 wins the Knight (Wall
- Campelli, Dayton 1984)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 Bd6 6.g3 Bc7 7.d6 Ba5 8.Bg2
O-O 9.Nh3 Nc6 10.O-O Re8 11.Nd5 Re6 12.Nd5 Re6 13.f4 Re8 14.Qd3
g6 15.f5 c4 16.Qxc4 Ne5 17.Qh4 Nh5 18.g4 traps the Knight (Knaak -
Hector, Kecskemet 1987)
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Bill Wall 700 Opening Traps
Benoni Defense, Old Benoni (1.d4 c5 2.d5)
1.d4 c5 2.d5 Na6 3.Nf3 d6 4.e4 Bg4 5.Ne5!? Qa5+ [better is 5…dxe5
6.Qxg4; not 5…Bxd1? 6.Bb5+ Qd7 7.Bxd7+ Kd8 8.Nxf7+] 6.Bd2 dxe5??
7.Bxa5 Bxd1 8.Bb5 mate (Charosh - Jaffe, New York 1936)
1.d4 c5 2.d5 e5 3.dxe6 fxe6 4.e4 e5?? [4…Nc6] 5.Qh5+ g6 6.Qxe5+ wins the
Rook (Wall - Zxcmi, Internet 1996)
1.d4 c5 2.d5 e6 3.e4 exd5 4.exd5 Bd6 5.Nf3 b6 6.Bd3 Qe7+ 7.Be3 Nf6
8.O-O Nxd5? [8…O-O or 8…Na6] 9.Re1 [threatening 10.Bg5] 9…O-O
10.Bxh7 Kxh7 11.Qxd5 wins a Knight (Wall - Greg, Internet 1996)
1.d4 c5 3.d5 d6 3.e4 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.Nf3 Na6 6.Be2 Nc7 7.O-O Nf6 8.Bf4
O-O 9.h3 b5 10.e5 dxe5 11.Nxe5 b4 12.Nc6 Qd7 13.Nb5? [13.Bxc7] 13…
Ncxd5 14.Ne5 Qd8 15.Nc6 Qb6 16.Bf3 Bb7 wins a piece (D. Gurevich -
GNUSURF, 1995)
1.d4 c5 2.d5 d6 3.e4 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.Nf3 Na6 6.Bc4 Bd7 7.a4 Nc7 8.O-O
Rb8 9.Bf4 f6 10.Qe2 Nh6 11.e5 fxe5 12.Nxe5 dxe5 13.Bxe5 Bxe5 14.Qxe5
Nf7 15.Qg7 Bf5? 16.d6 e6 17.dxc7 Qxc7 18.Rfe1 and if 18…Qe7 19.Bb5+
Kd8 20.Rad1 Kc8 21.Rd7 wins the Knight (Vogel - Suhl, Germany 1993).
Bird’s Opening (1.f4)
Bird’s opening was adopted by the English master Henry Bird (1830-1908)
in 1873 who popularized this opening in the late 19th century.
1.f4 d5 2.b3 Nf6 3.e3 c5 4.Bb5+ Nc6 5.d4?? [White should play 5.Nf3 or
5.Bb2] 5…Qa5+ wins the Bishop (Schenkein - Rindlisbacher, Arosa 1990)
1.f4 d5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.e3 e6 4.Bb5 Bd7 5.O-O a6 6.Be2 Bc5 7.d4 Bd6 8.c4
Nge7 9.c5, winning a piece (Wall - Oz, Internet 1996)
1.f4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.e3 d4 5.exd4 Nxd4 6.Bc4 Bg4 7.Ne5 Bxd1??
[best may be 7…e6] 8.Bxf7 mate (Wall - Velas, Internet 1997)
1.f4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 g6 4.d3 Bg7 5.Nbd2 O-O 6.h3 c5 7.b3? Ng4
(threatening 8...Bxa1) 8.Ne5 Nxe3, threatening the Queen. If the Queen
moves, then 9...Nxc2+ winning the rook (Martinez - Wall, Thailand 1974)
1.f4 d5 2.Nf3 h5 3.g3 h4 4.Nxh4 e5 5.fxe5?? Rxh4! And if 6.gxh4 Qxh4
mate (Kourtesis - Kotronias, Athens 1989)
1.f4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Qe2 Bf5 5.Qb5+ Bd7 6.Qxb7 Bc6 7.Bb5
Qd7 8.Bxc6 Qxc6 9.Qc8 mate (Myers - Unknown, Iowa 1985)
1.f4 d5 2.h3 e5 3.g4?? Qh4 mate (Van Kessel - Rensen, 1990)
1.f4 Nf6 2.c4 d5 3.cxd5 Nxd5 4.d3 e5 5.fxe5 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Ne3 7.Qa4+ b5
8.Qxb5+ Bd7 9.Qb7 Bc6 wins the Queen since 10.Qxb4 Nc2+ forks King
and Queen (Quabeck - Heuacker, Frankfurt 1936)
1.f4 Nf6 2.e3 d5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.c4 Bf5 5.Na3 e6 6.b3 Bc5 7.d4? [best is 7.Nc2]
7…Bb4+ 8.Nd2 Ne4 9.Nb1 Qh4+ wins, since 10.Ke2?? Qf2+ 11.Kd3 Nc5
is mate and 10.g3 Nxg3 wins material (Knudsen - Richardson, Iowa 1973)
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Bill Wall 700 Opening Traps
Bird’s Opening, From’s Gambit (1.f4 e5)
1.f4 e5 2.Nf3 [it’s probably best to accept the gambit with 2.fxe5] 2…e4
3.Ng5 d5 4.e3 h6 5.Nxf7? [5.Nh3] 5…Kxf7 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qe5?? Bg7 traps
the Queen (Wageneder - Acs, Balatonbereny 1992)
1.f4 e5 2.d3 exf4 3.Bxf4 Nc6 4.Nf3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.Nbd2 Nf6 7.Bg5 Ng4
8.Bh4?? [8.d4 should be played] 8…Qxh4+ 9.Nxh4 Bf2 mate (Barsalou -
Wall, Dayton 1980)
1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.b3?? [4.Nf3 or 4.g3 need to be played to
prevent the Queen from coming out to the h4 square] 4…Qh4+ 5.g3 Qxg3+
6.hxg3 Bxg3 mate (Mogusar - Trippe, St. Louis 1984)
1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.d4? Qh4+ 5.Kd2 Qxd4+ 6.Ke1 Qh4+ 7.Kd2
Nf6 8.Nf3 Ne4+ 9.Ke3 Qf4+ mates after 10.Kd3 Nf2+ 11.Kc3 Qb4 mate
or 10.Kd4 Bc5+ 11.Kc4 Nd2+ 12.Kc3 Qe3 mate (Riemslag - Cameron,
Nijmegen 1978)
1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.e4 [5.h3?? Bg3 mate, Bodvarson
- F. Olafsson, Iceland 1947] 5…g5 6.d4 g4 7.Ng5 Nxd4 8.Qxd4?? [8.Bc4 is
better] 8…Bg3+ 9.hxg3 Qxd4 wins the Queen (Murtaugh - Wall, Okinawa
1972)
1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Nc3 O-O 6.e4 Re8 7.d3
Ng4 8.Be2 Nxh2 9.Nxh2? [White should play 9.Be3] Bg3+ 10.Kf1 [not
10.Kd2?? Qg5 mate] 10…Qd4 and Black threatens mate (Lang - Multhopp,
Philadelphia 1995)
1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.d4 Ne4 6.c4 O-O 7.e3 Re8
8.Qc2 Bg4 9.h3?? [White’s best is 9.Nbd2] 9…Qh4+ 10.Nxh4 Bg3 mate (K.
Evans - Nagley, Internet 1997)
1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.d4 Ng4 6.Nc3 Bxh2 7.Bg5?
[7.Ne4 is a better alternative] 7…Bg3+ 8.Kd2 f6 9.Bh4 Nf2 10.Qc1 Nxh1
wins the Rook (Guischard - Gedult, Paris 1972)
1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.e3 Qf6 6.Nc3 Ne7 7.Ne4 Bxf3??
[better is 7…Qe6] 8.Nxf6+ wins the Queen (Vargyas - Vegvari, Hungary
1994)
1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.Nf3 g5 5.c3 g4 6.Qa4+ Nc6 7.Nd4 Qh4+
8.Kd1 g3 9.b3 [or 9.b4 Qxh2, Linder - Joppen, Germany 1950] 9…Qxh2!
10.Rxh2 gxh2 and Queens (Bird - Gunsberg, Hastings 1892)
1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.Nf3 g5 5.d4 g4 6.Ng5 c5 7.h3?? [7.dxc5
is best since 7…Bxc5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nxf7 wins a Rook] 7…Bg3+ 8.Kd2
Qxd4 mate (MacBrayne - Crichton. Scotland 1980)
1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.Nf3 g5 5.e4 g4 6.Nd4 [perhaps 6.e5]
6…Qh4+ 7.Ke2 g3 8.d3 Qxh2 9.Rxh2 gxh2 and Black queens the pawn
(Gliksteen - Lawrence, Ohio 1971)
1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.Nf3 g5 5.e4 g4 6.Ng1? Qh4+ 7.Ke2 g3
8.Nc3 Qxh2! 9.Rxh2 gxh2 wins the Queen back (Natapov - Radobarin,
USSR 1969)
1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.Nf3 g5 5.h3?? Bg3 mate. (Rossetti - Gedult,
Paris 1973)
1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.Nf3 h5 5.g3 h4 6.Nxh4?? [6.Rg1 is best]
6…Rxh4 7.gxh4 Qxh4 mate (Warren - Wall, North Carolina 1975)
1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.Nf3 Nh6 5.e4 Ng4 6.Qe2 O-O 7.Nc3 f5
8.d3 fxe4 9.dxe4 Nxh2 10.Nxh2?? [White should try 10.Be3] 10…Bg3+,
winning the Queen after 11.Qf2 Rxf2 (Lowenthal - Wendeker, Lvov 1934)
1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.g3 Qg5 5.Nf3?? [White should simply play
5.Bg2] 5…Qxg3+ [or 5…Bxg3+] 6.hxg3 Bxg3 mate (Unknown - Du Mont,
France 1802)
1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 Qh4+?! 3.g3 Qe4 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qf5 6.e4 Qe6 7.d4
[threatening 8.d5] 7…Qe7 8.Bg5 Qb4 9.a3 Qxb2 10.Na4 traps the Queen
(Greco 1620)
Page 22 Page 23
Bill Wall 700 Opening Traps
Bishop’s Opening (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4)
This is one of the oldest openings with a lot of traps and transpositions.
Until the middle of the 19th century, most chess authorities thought the
best place for the Bishop was on c4, threatening the f7 square with a lot of
attacking possibilities. Around 1840, this opening fell out of favor due to
improvements in Black’s Defense. It still has its traps and played by a few
modern Grandmasters suxh as John Nunn and Sergei Dolmatov.
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.c3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.e5 d5 6.exf6 dxc4 7.Qh5 Bf8
[perhaps 7…g5 8.Qxg5 Nd7 is better] 8.Qe5+ Be6 9.fxg7 wins a piece
(Ursell - O’Hanlon, Southsea 1949)
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.b4!? Bb6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Nf3 Nxe4? [5…d6 may be safer]
6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ Ke6 8.Nxe4 Kxe5 9.Bb2+ Kxe4?? [9…Bd4 10.Qh5+
is strong] 10.Qf3 mate (Oskam - Grosjean, Rotterdam 1930)
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.d3 Nc6 4.Nh3 Qh4?? [Black should play 4…Nf6] 5.Bg5
traps the Queen (Wall - Stroud, North Carolina 1977)
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Qh5 [threatening 4.Qxf7 mate] 3…g6?? [3…Qe7 must
be played] 4.Qxe5+ wins the Rook (Meyer - Newcomb, Los Angeles 1952)
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Qh5 Qe7 4.Nc3 c6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Qxe5 Bxf2+ 7.Kxf2??
[White should play 7.Kf1] 7…Ng4+ wins the Queen (Greco 1620)
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.d3 Na5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Qh5+ g6? [5…Ke6 is best]
6.Qxe5, threatening 7.Qxa5 and 7.Qxh8 and winning a piece (Langeweg -
Ten, Netherlands 1983)
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.d3 Na5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Qh5+ Ke6 6.Qf5+ Kd6 7.d4
Qf6? [7…Qe8 is preferable] 8.dxe5+ Qxe5 9.Bf4 wins the Queen (Boros -
Saller, 1995)
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Qf3 [threatenng mate with 4.Qxf7] 3...Nf6 4.Bd5?
[4.Ne2 looks better] 4...Nd4 5.Qc3 [or 5.Qd3] 5...c6 6.Bc4?! [6.Bb3] 6...
Nxe4 7.Qd3 d5 8.f3 Qh4+ 9.g3 Nxg3 wins since 10.hxg3 Qxh1 wins the
rook (Yarray - Wall, Internet 1996)
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Qg4 d5 wins a piece (Asphaltboy - Wall, Internet 1996)
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Qh5 d6?? [3…g6 4.Qf3 Nf6 is best] 4.Qxf7 mate
(Brady - Unknown, 1993)
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 c6 3.Nf3 d5 4.exd5 Bg4 5.Qe2 Bxf3 6.Qxf3 b5 7.dxc6 bxc4
8.c7 e4 9.Qxe4 c8=Q mate (Wall - Webcrawler, Internet 1997)
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 c6 4.Nf3 d5 5.Bb3 dxe4 6.Nxe5?? [6.Ng5 is better]
6…Qa5+, winning the Knight after 7…Qxe5 (Tammela - Kiltti, 1992)
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 d5 4.exd5 Nxd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.O-O Be7 7.Re1
Bf6?! [7…f6 or 7…Qd6 may be better] 8.Bb5 Bg4? [8…O-O is better]
9.Nxe5 Bxd1 10.Nxc6+ wins a piece after 10…Kf8 11.Nxd8 and 12.Rxd1
(Malaschitz - Aouriri, Internet 1997)
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d4 exd4 4.e5 d5 5.exd6 Bxd6 6.Qxd4?? [White should try
6.Nf3 or 6.Bg5] 6…Bb4+ wins the Queen (Hejny - Jerabek, Czechoslovakia
1993)
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.dxe5 d6? [perhaps 4...Qh4 or 4...Nc5]
5.Qd5 [threatening 6.Qxf7 mate] 5...Be6 [another idea is 5...Ng5] 6.Qxb7
Bxc4 7.Qxa8 dxe5?? [Black could resist a little longer with 7...c6] 8.Qxe4
wins (Linke - Huber, Germany 1992)
Page 24 Page 25
Bill Wall 700 Opening Traps
Blackmar-Diemer Gambit
(1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 or 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e4)
The original Blackmar Gambit, 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.f3 was analyzed by
Armand Blackmar in 1881. In 1932 Emil Diemer analyzed 1.d4 d5 2.e4
dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3.
1.d4 d5 2.e4 Nf6 (better is 2...dxe4) 3.e5 Nd4?? 4.f3 and the Knight is
trapped (Wall - Snitch, Internet 1996)
1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 c5 4.Bc4 Qxd4 5.Nd5 Qxc4?? 6.Nc7 mate (Gedult
- Deverrier, France 1973)
1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d5 Ne5 5.Qd4 Ng6 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6! Qxd4
8.cxb7+ Kd8 9.bxa8=Q wins (Wall - Robison, Los Angeles 1969)
1,d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 e5 4.Qe2 Qxd4 5.Qxe4 Bb4 6.Bd2?? [perhaps
6.Qe3] 6…Bxc3 and if 7.Bxc3 or 7.bxc3, 7…Qxe4+ wins the Queen (Plath
- Pohl, Postal 1988)
1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 f5 4.f3 Nc6 5.Bb5 exf3 6.Nxf3 Nh6 7.Bxh6 gxh6
8.Ne5 a6 9.Qh5 mate (Wall - DieHappy, Internet 1996)
1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 c5 5.Bf4 cxd4 6.Nb5 Nd5 7.Bxb8 Ne3?
[7…Rxb8 should be played] 8.Nc7+ Qxc7 9.Bxc7 Nxd1 10.Rxd1 and White
is up a piece (Gedult - Zweigberg, Paris 1971)
1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 c6 6.Bc4 Nbd7 7.Ng5 Nd5?
[7…e6 is safer] 8.Nxd5 cxd5 9.Nxf7! forking the Queen and Rook. 9…Kxf7
fails to 10.Qh5+ g6 11.Qxd5+ e6 12.Qxe6+ Kg7 13.Qf7 mate (Stapelfeld -
Stock, Postal 1980)
1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bf5 6.Ne5 h5 7.Qf3 Qc8
8.Bc4 e6 9.Bg5 Ng4 [perhaps 9…Bxc2 is safe] 10.Qxf5! and White wins the
Bishop since 10…exf5 11.Bxf7 is mate (Leisebein - Burk, Postal 1986)
1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bg4 6.Bf4 Bxf3 7.Qxf3
Qxd4 8.Qxb7 Qxf4 9.Qc8 mate (Wall - Scal, Internet 1996)
1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 g6 6.Bc4 Bg7 7.h4 Nbd7?
[7…O-O is playable] 8.Bxf7+ Kxf7 9.Ng5+ Ke8?? [or 9…Kg8 10.Ne6 Qe8
11.Nxc7] 10.Ne6, trapping the Queen (Purser - Weinberg, Postal 1983)
1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Qxf3 Nc6 6.Bb5 Qxd4? [Black
should play 6…Bd7] 7.Bxc6+ bxc6 8.Qxc6+ wins the Rook (De Vore -
Silman, Postal 1968)
1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Qxf3 Qxd4 6.Be3 Qb4 7.O-O-O
e5 8.Nb5 Na6 9.a3 Qe4 10.Qf2?? [White should be able to play 10.Nxa7]
10…Ng4 and if 11 Bg5 f6 [not 11…Nxf2 12.Rd8 mate] and Black wins a
piece (Van Eijk - Carvalho, Internet 1996)
1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Qxf3 Qxd4 6.Be3 Qb4 7.O-O-O
e5 8.Nb5 Na6 9.Bg5 e4 10.Bxf6 exf3?? [10…Be6 is better] 11.Rd8 mate
(Wall - Millimaci, California 1987)
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 Qa5? [8…Na6 is better] 9.Qxb7 Bxd1?? 10.Qc8 mate (Ewald -
Pfaus, Frankfurt 1991)
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 Na6 9.Qxb7 Rc8? [best is 9…Qe4] 10.Nxc7+ Now if 10…Nxc7
11.Qxb4 wins the Queen. If 10…Rxc7 11.Bb5+ (Wall - Corrie, Thailand
1974)
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 Nfd7?? 9.Qxb7 wins (Kennedy - Goldberg, New Jersey 1992)
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 e5 9.Nxc7+ Ke7 10.Qxb7! wins since 10…Qxb7?? 11.Bc5 mate
(Bartsch - Jennen)
1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Qxf3 Qxd4 6.Be3 Qe5 7.O-O-O
Bg4 8.Qxb7 Qxe3+ 9.Kb1 Bxd1?? [Black should try 9…Qb6 10.Qxa8 Bxd1
11.Nxd1 e5] 10.Qc8 mate (Baitsch - Pahlke, Baden 1956)
1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Qxf3 Qxd4 6.Be3 Qg4 7.Qf2 Qb4
8.O-O-O Nc6 [perhaps 8…e5 first] 9.Nb5 Qa5 10.Qe1! wins since 10…
Qxe1 11.Nxc7 is mate (Welling - Scheeren, Eindhoven)
Page 26 Page 27
Bill Wall 700 Opening Traps
Budapest Defense (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5)
This is an aggressive counter-gambit that became popular in Budapest in the
late 19th century and early 20th century. There are several traps associated
with this defense and gambit.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.d5 Bb4+ 4.Nc3 d6?? 5.Qa4+, winning the Bishop (Gueye
- Tonci, Sharjah 1985)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.d5 Bc5 4.Bg5 [better is 4.Nc3] 4…Ne4! (a queen sacrifice)
5.Bxd8?? Bxf2 mate.(Arnold - Hanauer, Philadelphia 1936)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.d5 Bc5 4.Bg5 Ne4 5.Be3 Bxe3 6.fxe3 Qh4+ 7.g3 Nxg3
8.Nf3 Qh6 and Black wins more material (Wacker - Klein, Germany 1993)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.d5 Bc5 4.Bg5 Ne4 5.Be3?? Bxe3 6.fxe3 Qh4+ 7.g3 Nxg3
and if 8.hxg3 Qxh1 wins the rook (Wacker - Klein, Eisenberg 1993)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.d5 Ne4 4.a3 d6 5.exd6 Bxd6 6.g3 Nxf2 7.Kxf2 Bxg3+ and
8...Qxd1, winning the Queen. (Warren - Selman, Postal 1930 and repeated
in Nicoleanu - Georgescu, Bucharest 1960)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.d5 Ne4 4.Qc2 Bb4+ 5.Nd2 d5 6.exd6 Bf5 7.Qa4+ Nc6
8.a3 Nc5 9.dxc7? [9.Qd1 should be played] 9…Qe7 10.Qd1?? [too late.
White had to try 10.Qb5] 10…Nd3 mate (Lagha - Contedini, Leipzig 1960)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.d5 Ne4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 Qxd5 6.Qxc7 Bb4+ 7.Nd2
Nxd2 8.Qxc8+ Ke7 9.Qc7+ Ke6 and Black threatens mate with 10…Nf3
(Bloemen - Gedult, Paris 1971)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.d5 Ne4 4.f3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Qh4+ 6.g3 Nxg3 7.Bxb4 Ne4
mate (Rabott - Wall, Internet 1996)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Nc3 d6 5.exd6 Bxd6 6.h3 Nxf2 7.Kxf2 Qh4+
8.Kf3?? [8.Ke3 is best] 8…Qg3+ 9.Ke4 Bf5+! 10.Kxf5 Qg6 mate (Fomin -
Fedossov, USSR 1988)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Qd4 d6 5.exd6 Bxd6 6.Qxg7?? Be5 trapping
the Queen (Takacz - Krejcik, Vienna 1920)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Qd4 d6 5.exd6 Bxd6 6.c5 Nc6 7.Qd1 Nxf2!
and if 8.Kxf2 Bg3+ and 9...Qxd1, winning the Queen (Rajacajn - Wall,
Internet 1996)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Nf3 Bc5 5.e4 Nc6 6.Bg5 Bxf2+ 7.Ke2? [7…
Kd2 is more accurate] Nd4+ 8.Qxd4 Bxd4 9.Bxd8 Bxb2 wins the Rook (Zak
- Mieses, London 1944)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Bf4 Bb4+ 6.Nc3 Qe7 7.g3 Ncxe5
8.Ng5 h6 9.Ne4 f5 10.Nd2?? Nd3 mate (Heuston - Wall, Fremont, CA 1991)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Bf4 Bb4+ 6.Nbd2 Qe7 7.a3
Ngxe5 8.axb4?? Nd3 mate 0-1 (Detellis - Wall, Concord, CA 1986)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Nf3 d6 5.exd6 Bxd6 6.h3?? [6.Nc3 is
normal] 6…Nxf2 7.Kxf2 Bg3+ 8.Kxg3 Qxd1 wins the Queen (Preston -
Wall, Thailand 1973)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Bf4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bb4+ 6.Nbd2 Qe7 7.a3
Ncxe5 8.axb4?? [8.Nxe5 or 8.e3] 8…Nd3 mate (Subbraman - Munteanu,
1991)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Bf4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bb4+ 6.Nbd2 Qe7 7.h3
Ngxe5 8.Nxe5 Nxe5 9.a3?? [9.e3 is better] 9…Nd3 mate (Flament - Gedult,
Paris 1970)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Bf4 g5 5.Bd2 Nxe5 6.e3 d6 7.Be2 Be6 8.Bc3
Nbc6 9.f4 gxf4 10.exf4 wins a piece (Hertneck - Wunderer, Germany 1990)
Page 28 Page 29
Bill Wall 700 Opening Traps
Caro-Kann Defense (1.e4 c6)
In 1886 Horatio Caro and Marcus Kann analyzed and wrote extensively on
this defense. It did not become popular until the 1920s when Capablanca
started playing it. There are several traps associated with this opening.
1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.f3 d4 4.Na4 e6 5.Ne2?? b5 traps the Knight (Hardrock
- Wall, Internet 1997)
1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Bc4 Ngf6 6.Neg5 e6 7.Qe2 Nb6
[perhaps 7…Nd5 is safest] 8.Ne5 Qd4 9.Nexf7 Rg8 10.Bxe6 or 10.Nxe6
wins two Pawns [Wisniewski - Halasiewwicz, Postal 1993]
1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Qe2 Ngf6?? 6.Nd6 mate
(Alekhine - Unknown, Palma de Mallorca 1935 and repeated in Nishimura
- Marko, Lucerne 1982) - this is perhaps the most played trap in the Caro
Kann
1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Qe2 Bg4 [5…Nbd7?? 6.Nd6
mate, Nisimura - Markovic, Lucerne 1982] 6.g3 Nbd7?? 7.Nd6 mate (La
Rota - Sarwer, Canada 1988)
1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 Bg4 4.h3 Bh5 5.Be2 Na6? [simply 5…e6] 6.exd5
cxd5?? [6…Nb4 is a little better] 7.Bb5+ wins the Queen [Podhraski - Zavec,
Bled 1996]
1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Qf3 d4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.e5 dxc3 6.exf6 g6 7.dxc3 Nd7??
[7…cxd2+ 8.Bxd2 gxf6 is better] 8.Bxf7+! Kxf7 9.fxe7+ Kxe7 10.Bg5+ wins
the Queen (Dainauskas - Blecher, Siauliai 1980)
1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Qf3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 e5 5.Bc4 Nf6 [5…f6] 6.Ng5 Bg4
7.Qb3, threatening 8.Nxf7 and 8.Qxb7 (Taylor - Angermann, Postal 1986)
1.e4 c6 2.c4 d5 3.cxd5 cxd5 4.exd5 Nf6 5.Qa4+ Qd7?? 6.Bb5 winning the
Queen (Dubois - Coudray, Paris 1989)
1.e4 c6 2.c4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.cxd5 Nf6 5.Bb5+ Bd7 6.Bc4 Qc7 7.Qb3?
[White should play 7.d3] 7…b5! 8.d6 (if 8.Bxb5 Qxc1+) 8...Qxc4 wins the
Bishop (Spiel - Bramkamp, Dortmund 1991)
1.e4 c6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 g6 4.f4 Nh6 5.Ngf3 Ng4 6.Be2?? [perhaps 6.c3 or
6.Qe2] 6…Ne3, winning the Queen (Metzger - Brandon, USA 1989)
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Bc4 Bf5 5.f3 exf3 6.Nxf3 e6 7.O-O Nf6 8.Ne5
h6? [Black can play 8…Bxc2 and if 9.Qxc2 Qxd4+ and 10…Qxe5] 9.Rxf5!
exf5 10.Nxf7 and 11.Nxh8 or 11.Qe2+ (Buerki - Plauth, San Bernardino
1992)
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Qe2 Nd7?? 6.Nd6 mate (WallFerens,
Dayton 1981)
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Bd3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.e6 fxe6 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxg6+ (or
7.Bxg6+) 7...hxg6 8.Bxg6 mate (Damant - Unknown, London 1932)
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Qe2 b5?? 7.Nd6
mate (Smith - Tichenor, South Carolina 1982)
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Ng5 h6 6.Ne6 Qa5+ 7.Bd2 Qb6
8.Bd3 fxe6 9.Qh5+ Kd8 10.Ba5 wins the Queen (Nunn - Georgiev, Linares
1988)
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6 6.Bc4 Qe7+ 7.Ne2??
Qb4+ and 8...Qxc4 (Sira - Konopkova, Russia 1994)
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6 6.Bc4 Qe7+ 7.Qe2
Be6 8.Be3 Qb4+ wins the Bishop (Birr - Mammen, Eppingen 1988)
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Qd3 e5 6.dxe5 Qa5+ 7.Bd2
Qxe5 8.O-O-O Nxe4 9.Qd8+! Kxd8 10.Bg5+ Kc7 (10...Ke8 11.Rd8 mate)
11.Bd8 mate (Reti - Tartakower, Vienna 1910)
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 dxc4 7.Bg5 dxc4
8.Qxd4 Nxd4 9.O-O-O Nc6?? [9…e5 is best] 10.Nb5 threatening 11.Nc7
mate (Janko - Lumsdon, Disentis 1991)
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 Nf6 5.Bf4 Qb6 6.Nc3 e6 7.Nb5 Nc6?
[7…Na6 is stronger] 8.Bc7 wins the Queen after 8…Qa6 9.Nd6+ Bxd6
10.Qxa6 (Pickett - Veatch, Las Vegas 1986)
Page 30 Page 31
Bill Wall 700 Opening Traps
Center Counter Defense (1.e4 d5)
The Center Counter Defense, also known as the Scandinavian Defense because
of the analysis of this defense by Scandinavian players in the 19th century, usually
sees an early Queen development by Black. Several traps arise from this defense.
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.h3 Bxf3 6.Qxf3 Nc6 7.Bb5 Qb6
8.Nd5 Qa5 9.b4 Qxb5 10.Nc7+, winning the Queen after 11.Nxb5 (Wiesel -
Weigel, Postal 1923)
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Bd2 Nc6 6.Bb5 Bd7? [Black needs to
find an escape route with 6…Qb4] 7.Nd5 Nb4 [7…Qxb5 fails to 8.Nxc7+ forking
King and Queen] 8.Bxb4 traps the Queen (Abrahams - Crothers, Oxford 1925)
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6?! 4.d4 a6 5.Nge2 b5 6.Bf4 Qb6? [allows the
Knight to attack. Better is 6…Qd8 or 6…Qd8] 7.Nd5, threatening 8.Nxc7+,
winning the Rook (Korneev - Hettler, 1993)
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd8 4.Bc4 e5 5.Qh5 g6 6.Qxe5+ Ne7 7.Qxh8,
winning the rook (Wall - Puke, Internet 1996)
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd8 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bg4? [better is 5…Nc6] 6.Ne5!
Bh5?? [Black had to play 6…Be6. Not 6…Bxd1?? 7.Bxf7 mate] 7.Qxh5!, and if
7…Nxh5 8.Bxf7 mate (Balode - Sondore, Riga 1965)
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd8 4.d4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.d5 Ne5? [perhaps 6…Nb4
or 6…Nb8] 7.Nxe5 Bxd1 8.Bb5+ wins (Mieses - Akvist, Europe 1895)
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qe5+?! 4.Be2 Bf5 5.Nf3 Qc5 6.d4 Qb6 7.O-O Nc6
8.Nd5 Qb5?? 9.Nxc7+ winning the Queen (Wall - LonelyMonkey, Internet 1996)
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qe5+?! 4.Be2 Bg4 5.f3 Bh5 6.Nb5 e6?? [6…Na6
should be played] 7.d4, forking King and Rook with 8.Nxc7 after the Queen
moves away (Wall - Lovegren, Dayton 1980)
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qe6+ 4.Be2 Nf6 5.Nb5 (threatening 6.Nxc7) 5...Nd5
6.c4 Qg6 7.cxd5 Qxg2 8.Bf3 Qg6 9.Nxc7+ wins (Wall - R. Adams, San Antonio
1996)
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nf3 Bg4 4.Be2 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qa5 6.d4 e5 7.Nxe5 Bxe2
8.Nxc6?? [8.Qxe2 was called for] 8…Qxc3+! 9.bxc3 Bxd1 wins a piece (Zabrzeski
- Angelov, Budapest 1967)
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 e6?! 3.dxe6 Bxe6 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bd6 6.d5 Nxd5 7.Nxd5 Bxd5
8.Qxd5?? Bb4+, winning the Queen after 9...Qxd5 (Cagle - Wall, North Carolina
1976)
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.Nc3 Nxd5 6.Nxd5 Qxd5
7.Qf3 Qc4?? [perhaps 7…e6 instead] 8.Qxb7 Qc6 9.Qc8 mate (Vann - Clemow,
Plymouth 1989)
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nxd5 4.Bc4 Nxc3 5.Qf3 (threatening 6.Qxf7+) 5...e6
6.Qxc3 Nc6 7.Nf3 h6 8.Bb5, winning the Knight (Ourmet - Cierniak, Paris 1989)
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.Nc3 e6 4.dxe6 Bxe6 5.d4 Bb4 6.Nf3 O-O 7.Bd2 Re8 8.Ng5
Bxc3 9.Bxc3 Bg4+ 10.Be2 Rxe2+ wins the Queen (Xfile - Wall, Internet 1997)
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.d4 Nxd5 4.c4 Nb4 5.Qa4+ N8c6 6.a3 Na6 7.d5 Nc5 8.Qb5
e6 9.dxc6 b6 10.Ke2 a5, threatening 11...Ba6 and trapping the Queen (Kelics -
Simic, Postal 1792)
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.d4 Bg4 4.Be2 Qxd5? [4…Bxe2 is best] 5.Bxg4 Qe4+ 6.Be2
Qxg2 7.Bf3 traps the Queen (Lapshun - Gouret, New York 1992)
1.e4 d5 2.Nf3 (usual is 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3) 2...dxe4 3.Ng5 Qd5 4.d3 exd3 5.Bxd3
Qxg2?? 6.Be4, trapping the Queen (Krejcik - Takacs, Vienna 1920)
Page 32 Page 33
Bill Wall 700 Opening Traps
Center Game (1.e4 e5 2.d4)
This opening is one of the oldest openings in chess. White tries to break up
Black’s central strongpoint at the expense of bringing out the Queen early or
giving up a pawn.
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 [the Danish Gambit] dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nf6 5.Bc4 Nxe4
6.Bf4 Nxe4 7.Nd5 Qd8 8.Nxc7+ Ke7 9.Qd5 leads to mate (Wall - Duke,
Internet 1997)
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 d6 6.Nf3 Nf6 7.O-O Nbd7
8.e5 Nxe5 9.Nxe5 dxe5?? [9…Be6 is a little better] 10.Bxf7+ Ke7 [10…Kxf7
11.Qxd8 wins the Queen] 11.Ba3+, now White wins the Queen after 11…
Kxf7 12.Qxd8 (Gibbs - Davie, England 1916)
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 Qg5 6.Nf3 Qxg2 7.Bxf7+
Kxf7 8.Rg1 Qh3 9.Ng5+ forking King and Queen (Wall - Van Guilder,
Guam 1974)
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 d5 4.Qxd4 Nf6 5.Bg5 Be6 6.e5 h6 [better is 6…Nc6]
7.exf6 hxg5 8.fxg7 wins a piece (Kirby - Smith, Sunnyvale, CA 1985)
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Nxd4 Nxd4 7.cxd4 Nf6
8.Nc3 Bb4?? [the Queen must move] 9.Qa4+, winning the Bishop (Smith -
Cohn, Hanover 1902)
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Qe2 Qe7 5.e5 d5? [Black should retreat with
5…Ng8] 6.exf6 Qxe2+ 7.Bxe2 (Regan - Kichinski, Sunnyvale 1988)
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.e5 d5 5.Bb3 Ne4 6.Ne2 Bc5 7.f3 Qh4+
8.g3 d3 9.gxh4?? [9.Qxd3 is best] 9…Bf2+ 10.Kf1 Bh3 mate (Stevenson -
Mariotti, Nottingham)
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qa4 Qe7 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.Bg5 d5 7.O-O-O
dxe4 8.Nxe4 Qxe4 9.Rd8+! Kxd8 10.Qxe4, wins the Queen (Wall - Davidson,
Hickory, NC 1975)
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qa4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d5 6.Bg5 dxe4 7.Nxe4 Qe7
8.O-O-O Qxe4 [safer is 8…Bd7] 9.Rd8+! Kxd8 10.Qxe4 wins the Queen
(Bronstein - Unknown, Sochi 1950)
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qe3 (4.Qc3?? Bb4 wins the Queen, Memo
- Wall, Internet 1996) Nf6 5.Bc4 Ne5 6.Bb3 Bb4+ 7.c3 Bc5 8.Qg3 Bxf2+!
9.Kxf2 Nxe4+ winning the Queen (Unknown - Leonhardt, Leipzig 1903)
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Qf6 4.Qe3 Nh6 5.Nc3 Ng4 6.Nd5 Qc6? [6…
Qd8 is better] 7.Qf4 [threatening 8.Nxc7+] 7…d6 8.Bb5 wins the Queen
since 8…Qxb5 9.Nxc7 forks Queen and King (Barnett - Eastwood, Postal
1949)
1.e4 e5 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 exd4 4.Qxd4 dxe4 5.Nd5 c6 6.Qe5+ Kd7 7.Qf5+
Kd6?? [7…Ke8 looks like the only good move] 8.Bf4+ Kc5 9.b4+ Kd4 10.c3
mate (Sas - Unknown, Sambor 1904)
1.e4 e5 2.d4 d6 3.c3 Bd7 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.Qb3 Qe7 6.Qxb7 Bc6 7.Qc8+ Qd8
8.Bxf7+! Ke7 9.Qe6 mate (Steinitz - Unknown, New York 1890)
1.e4 e5 2.d4 f6? (Black should just play 2...exd4) 3.dxe5 fxe5 4.Qh5+ g6
5.Qxe5+ Ne7 6.Qxh8, winning the rook. (Wall - Kay, Internet 1996)
Page 34 Page 35
Bill Wall 700 Opening Traps
Dunst Opening (1.Nc3)
This Queen’s Knight Opening was analyzed and played by American master
Ted Dunst (1907-1985). It transposes into many other openings.
1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 d4 3.Nd5 f5 4.Bc4 fxe4 5.Qh5+ g6 6.Qe5 c6 7.Nc7+ Kd7
8.Be6 mate (Harding - Unknown, London 1974)
1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 d4 3.Nce2 c5 4.Ng3 e5 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.Bc4 f6? 7.Nxe5! Bxd1??
8.Bf7+ Ke7 9.Nf5 mate (Moody - Bender, Postal 1977)
1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.f3 Bf5 5.g4 Bg6 6.g5 exf3 7.Qxf3 Qd4
8.Qxb7 Ng4 9.Qxa8?? [White overlooks 9.Qc8+! Qd8 10.Bb5+] Qf2+
10.Kd1 Ne3+ 11.dxe3 Bxc2 mate (Aasum - Frenzel, Germany 1989)
1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nxe4 Nd7 4.Bc4 Ngf6 5.Ng5 e6 6.Qe2 Be7 [perhaps
6…Nb6] 7.Nxf7 Kxf7 8.Qxe6+ and White is up several pawns and a strong
attack (Myers - Savon, New York 1959)
1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nxe4 e5 4.Bc4 Be7 5.Qh5 Nh6 6.d3 and threatening
7.Bxh6 and 8.Qxf7 (Van Geet - Sande, Postal 1982)
1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nxe4 e5 4.Bc4 Bf5 5.Qf3 Qd7 6.Ng5 Nc6 7.Bxf7+
Kd8 8.Be6 Bxe6 9.Qxf8+ and if 9...Qe8 10.Nxe6+ wins a piece (Goldberg -
Lewin, South Africa 1982)
1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nxe4 e5 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.h3 Bxf3 6.Qxf3 Be7 [safer is 6…
Nc6] 7.Bc4 [threatening 8.Qxf7] 7…Nh6 8.d3 [threatening 9.Bxh6 gxh6
10.Qxf7] 8…g5 9.Qh5 and Black loses the Knight. If 9…Ng8 10.Qxf7+
Kd7 11.Nc5+ is strong (Myers - Meifert, Racine 1955)
Dutch Defense (1.d4 f5)
This defense was first advocated by the Dutch player Elias Stein in 1789 in
his book, Nouvel Essai Sur le Jeu des Eschecs. Many traps can arise from this
defense.
1.d4 f5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 e6 4.e3 Bb4 5.Bb5 c6 6.Ba4 Ne4 7.Qe2 Nxc3
8.bxc3 Bxc3+, winning the rook (MacKid - Wall, Internet 1996)
1.d4 f5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bg5 d5 4.Bxf6 exf6 5.e3 c6 6.Bd3 Qb6 7.a3 Qxb2??
[7…Bd6 is more natural] 8.Na4 traps the Queen (Vaiser - Mutzner, Mendrisio
1988)
1.d4 f5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bg5 h6 4.Bxf6 exf6 5.e4 Bb4 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Bc4 Qe7
8.Ne2 fxe4 9.O-O-O c6 10.Nf4, threatening 11.Ng6 and forking King,
Queen, and Rook (Wall - McKone, Palo Alto 1989)
1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.h4 Bg7 5.h5 Nxh5 6.e4 e6 7.exf5 exf5 8.Rxh5
gxh5 9.Qxh5+ Kf8 10.Nd5 h6 11.Qxf5+ Kg8 12.Qe4 Kf7? [12…Nc6 is
playable] 13.Be2 [or 13.Qf4+ and 14.Nxc7, winning the Rook] 13…Rf8
14.Bxh6 and if 14…Bxh6 15.Qh7+ leads to mate (Piket - Klip, Netherlands
1993)
1.d4 f5 2.Be3?! Nf6 3.Qd3 e6 4.Bg5 c5 5.dxc5 Bxc5 6.g3 Qb6 7.Be3 Qxb2
8.Qc3?? Bb4 wins the Queen (Hamlet - Wall, Internet 1997)
Page 36 Page 37
Bill Wall 700 Opening Traps
1.d4 f5 2.e4 (the Staunton Gambit) 2...d6 3.c4 Nf6 4.Nc3 b6? 5.exf5 Bxf5
6.Qf3 (threatening 7.Qxa8 and winning the rook) 6...c6 7.Qxf5, winning
the Bishop. (Jorgensen - Jensen, Denmark 1988)
1.d4 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.Nc3 e5 4.Qh5+ Qe7 5.Qxe5+ Qe7 6.Qxh8, wins the
Rook (Wall - McKone, Palo Alto 1989)
1.d4 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.g4 h6 5.f4 d5 6.Be2 a6 7.g5 Nfd7 8.Bh5+ g6
9.Bxg6 mate (Wall - Macho, Internet 1996)
1.d4 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 h6 5.Bxf6 exf6 6.Qh5+ Ke7 7.Bc4 Nc6??
[7…c6 provides an escape route for the King] 8.Qf7+ Kd6 9.Nxe4 mate
(Krongraf - Monsehr, Postal 1989)
1.d4 f5 2.e4 g6? 3.exf5 gxf5?? 4.Qh5 mate (Welling - Braamkolk, Netherlands)
1.d4 f5 2.g4 fxg4 3.h3 Nf6 4.hxg4 Nxg4 5.Qd3 Nf6?? [Black’s best is 5…
g6] 6.Rxh7, threatening the Rook or mate with 7.Qg6 (Zilbermints - Ashley,
New York 1991)
1.d4 f5 2.Bg5 c6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e4 dxe4 5.Bc4 g6 6.f3 Bg7 7.fxe4 Bxd4 8.Qd2
Bf6?? [better is 8…Nf6] 9.Bf7+ wins the Queen after 9…Kxf7 10.Qxd8
(Carlson - Jones, England 1995)
1.d4 f5 2.Bg5 g6 3.Nc3 Nh6 4.e4 Nf7 5.h4 Nxg5 6.hxg5 d6 7.exf5 Bxf5
8.g4 Bd7 [perhaps 8…Bc8 is better] 9.Bd3 Bg7 10.Rxh7 wins a pawn since
10…Rxh7?? 11.Bxg6+ would win a rook. Black should now play 10…O-O
(Gazarek - Krumpak, Ljubljana 1995)
1.d4 f5 2.Bg5 h6 3.Bf4 g5 4.Bg3 f4 5.e3 h5 (5...fxg3?? Qh5 mate) 6.Bd3
(threatening 7.Bg6 mate) 6...Rh6 7.Qxh5+! Rxh5 8.Bg6 mate (Teed -
Delmar, New York 1896)
English Opening (1.c4)
This opening was mentioned in the 15th century, but rarely tried. Then in
1843 the English master Howard Staunton played it six times in his match
against Saint-Amant. It is now a very common opening with lots of traps.
1.c4 c5 2.Nc3 e5 3.e3 Ne7 4.Nb5 d5 5.Qa4 Bd7?? [Black should play 5…
Nbc6] 6.Nd6 mate (Corneliussen - Jensen, Denmark 1991)
1.c4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 Ne7 4.Ne4 f5?? 5.Nd6 mate. (Fraenkell - Unknown,
Helsinki 1934)
1.c4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.Nf3 (hoping to win back the pawn) 3...e5 4.Nxe5?? Qa5+
and Black resigned since White wins the Knight after 5...Qxe5. (Combe -
Hasenfuss, Folkestone 1933)
1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.b3 Bg7 6.Bb2?? Nxd4! 7.Bxd4
Qa5+ and Black wins a piece since 8.Nc3 fails to 8…Qxc3+ 9.Bxc3 Bxc3
10.Qd2 Bxd2+ (Panzalovic - Dancevski, 1990)
1.c4 d5 2.cxd5 Nf6 3.e4 Nxe4?? 4.Qa4+ and 5.Qxe4 (Lehmann - Schulz,
Berlin 1950)
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 f5 4.d4 e4 5.Bg5 Nf6 6.d5 exf3 7.dxc6 fxg2 8.cxd7+?
[8.Bxg2 should be played] 8…Nxd7! wins a piece since 9.Bxd8 gxh1=(Q)
wins the Rook and gets the Queen back (Doroshkievich - Tukmakov, Riga
1970)
Page 38 Page 39
Bill Wall 700 Opening Traps
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 g6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nd5 h6 6.Nxd4 Bg7? [perhaps
6…Nf6 first] 7.Bf4 d6 8.Nb5 Bxb2 9.Nbxc7+ wins the exchange (Petek -
Ptacnikova, Czechoslovakia 1995)
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Bb4 5.Nd5 Nxd5 6.cxd5 Nd4? [best is
6…Ne7] 7.e3 Nf5 8.Qg4, threatening Knight and Bishop (Kaprinay - H
Hubner, 1926 and repeated in Vaulin - Pasztor, Hungary 1994)
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.d3 b6 4.b3 Bb7 5.Bb2 Bc5 6.Nd5 Nxd5 7.cxd5 Bxd5
8.Bxe5 Bb4+ 9.Qd2 Bxd2, wins the Queen (Mason - Wall, Palo Alto 1990)
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 Ne4
8.Bxd8 Nxc3 9.Nxc6 Nxd1+ 10.Nxb4, wins a piece (Muller - Duchamp, The
Hague 1928)
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 Bb4 5.Nd5 Nxd5 6.cxd5 e4 7.dxc6 exf3
8.Qb3 wins a piece (Petrosian - Ree, Wijk aan Zee 1971)
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 e4 4.Ng5 Be7?! [4…b5 has been played] 5.Nxe4
d5? [safest is 5…O-O] 6.Nxf6+ Bxf6 7.Nxd5 O-O 8.e3 b5? [8…Bg5] 9.Qf3
Bb7?? 10.Nxf6+ wins the Bishop (Wall - Xfile, Internet 1997)
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 c6 4.d3 d5 5.Bg5 d4 6.Ne4 Nxe4! wins after
7.Bxd8 Bb4+ 8.Qd2 Bxd2 mate (Molero - Lootsma, Stockholm 1980)
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 Bc5 4.Bg2 d6 5.e3 Nc6 6.Nge2 Be6 7.Nd5 Nb4
8.Nxb4 and White wins a piece. If 8...Bxb4, then 9.Qa4+ and 10.Qxb4
(Ozols - Reides, Stockholm 1937)
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Bb4 5.Nd5 Nxd5 6.cxd5 Nd4 7.e3 Nf5
8.Qg4 wins a piece (Kaprinay - Hubner, Postal 1926)
1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 Bg4 3.Qb3 (threatening 4.Qxb7) 3...Qc8 4.h3 Bh5?? (Black
should take the Knight or back up along the other diagonal) 5.Qb5+ and
White wins the Bishop after 6.Qxh5 (Schmitt - Pribyl, Altenssteig 1990)
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Bf5 4.Qb3 Nc6 5.cxd5 Nxd4 6.Qa4+ wins a piece
(Knopp - Koebele, 1992)
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.cxd5 Nxd5 4.g3 Nxc3 5.bxc3 e6 6.Bg2 Be7 7.Rb1
O-O 8.Bxb7? [8.Rxb7 should have been played] 8…Bxb7 9.Rxb7 Qd5 wins
a Rook (Brooks - Wall, Thailand 1973)
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4 Nc6 4.Nge2 b6 5.g3 Ne5 6.d4?? Nf3 mate (Mantia
- Trogdon, Dayton 1979)
1.c4 Nf6 2.f4?! e6 3.d3 Bc5 4.Nf3 O-O 5.b3 Ng4 6.h3?? [6.d4 is best] 6…
Bf2+ 7.Kd2 Ne3 wins the Queen (Rodman - Wall, Internet 1996)
Englund Gambit (1.d4 e5)
This gambit, also known as the Charlick Gambit, was analyzed by the Swedish
player Fritz Englund (1871-1933) and Henry Charlick (1845-1916).
1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 d5 4.exd6 Bxd6 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.Bg5 Bf5 7.Nd5
Bb4+ 8.Nxb4 Nxb4 9.Nd4?? [ 9.Rc1] 9…Qxd4 wins a piece since 10.Qxd4
Nxc2+ forks King and Queen (L. Buntin - Bloodgood, Postal 1976)
1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 4.c3 Nxe5 5.Bd2?? [5.Nxe5 Qxe5 6.e3 is
better] 5…Nd3 mate (Bronnum - San Marco, Bagneux 1985)
1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 4.Nc3 Nxe5 5.Nxe5 Qxe5 6.Nd5 Qd6??
[6…Ne7 is playable] 7.Bf4 and after the Queen moves, 8.Nxc7+ forking
King and Rook (Kirste - Plath, Postal 1987)
1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 4.Nbd2 Nxe5 5.c3?? [5.Nxe5 Qxe5 6.Nf3 is
correct] 5…Nd3 mate (Bohmann - Ulfheden, Sweden 1938)
1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 4.Qd5 h6 5.Nc3 g5 6.Nb5 Qd8 7.Bd2
Nge7? [7…Bg7 is better] 8.Qd6! Bg7 [8…cxd6?? 9.Nxd6 mate] 9.Nxc7+
wins the Rook (Bouttier - Charrier, France 1792)
1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 4.Bf4 Qb4+ 5.Bd2 [5.Qd2?? Qxb2 wins
the Rook since 6.Qc3 Bb4! Would win the Queen, Schatzle - Batchis, New
Jersey 1987] 5…Qxb2 6.Bc3? [6.Nc3 had to be played] 6…Bb4! 7.Qd2
Bxc3 8.Qxc3?? Qc1 mate (Silbermann - Honich, Czernowitz 1930)
1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 f6 4.Bf4 fxe5 5.Nxe5 Qf6 6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.Bc1 Bg4
8.h3?! [perhaps 8.c3 or 8.Qd2] 8…Rd8 9.Nd2?? [9.Qxd8+ Qxd8 10.hxg4
should be played] 9…Bc5 threatening 10…Qxf2 mate since 10.f3 leads to
mate after 10…Qh4+ 11.g3 Qxg3 (Roughman - Gedult, France 1968)

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