Top 3 bullet traps
Bullet chess. We have all played it. Some might say opening preparation or pattern recognition make you good at this, but let's be real here: whoever plays faster wins. This means the one reason why bullet chess is playable, premoving.
Players often premove in order to save precious time for later in the game; however, this introduces inherent risks as well. Take, for example, the popular(And boring) London system can be played against virtually anything, thus it makes sense to premove to this position:
Well, this brings us to...
#3.
Let me explain the idea behind 2...Bg4?!: Black can expect that, after 2.Bf4, white is playing the London System. And white almost always plays ...e3 in the London.
Risk Level: Low
Even if white spots this trick, and plays 3.h3, then black has an O.K game after either 3...Bh5 or 3...Bf5.
How to beat it: Premove 3.Nf3 before 3.e3!(Or don't premove at all!)
#2.
Stalemate tricks, particularly this one, dubbed "The Rosen trap" after IM Eric Rosen swindled an FM on his stream, are a last-ditch effort to escape with the half point.
At this point in the game, your opponent will probably be near or under 10 seconds, and it is logical to simplify as much as possible so he/she can premove their way to victory. But with such reduced material, there is always potential for...that's right! Stalemate!
...And many more. Always be on the lookout for stalemate!
Risk Factor: None
If you have to play for a stalemate, chances are you're losing already so...why not?
How to beat it: Make sure at least one of their pawns can move in any given position, because no matter how winning you are, you never know when your opponent will throw a curveball at you!(For example, in the aforementioned position, premove 1...Qxf7+ 2.Kh8! Nd5!, just in case.
#1.
If you've played enough bullet games(Which I certainly have), you certainly would have fallen for possibly the most infamous bullet trap of all time, which is:
Yep, you got it, the rampant bishop trap! This trap is devastating and almost forces resignation. White first picks off the unsuspecting fianchettoed bishop, then proceeds to win the trapped rook in the corner!
Risk factor: HIGH
Please don't play this each time you face the fianchetto, because it will backfire 3 out of 4 games! Experienced bullet players will not fall for such a foolish trap; I recommend you only use this trap when:
- You are in the middle of a match(Around game 5 or 6)
- Your opponent frequentley premoves his fianchetto
- You haven't used this trap on that opponent before
- His rating is <2300
If ALL of these statements are true, by all means, go for it! After all, it is just a free game!
How to beat it: Premove g3/g6 and Nf3/Nf6, but NOT Bg2/Bg7. That way, when your opponent goes ...Bh6, you can just take it.
Well, that's all for this week. Bye
