Traxler Counter-Attack

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You were Black?  Quit playing it now!  It's busted!

5.Bxf7+! (instead of Knight Takes) followed by 6.Bd5.  Black's Dead!

no, have you ever heard of the traxler counter attack... it's tremendous for black.

what is wrong with Bg4 trapping the queen. this is probably why it isn't theory

oh...Bg4 is the move...thanks guys

According to theory, 8...Bg4 is almost winning for black.

5.Bxf7+ is fine for black.  At best it is a half pawn disadvantage at most (which comes from the 6.Bb3 variation).  If there is a line to try to bust the gambit, it would have to lie in 5.d4 although nobody plays that line.

The Traxler is risky because if white know's their theory they can survive the attack with a large material advantage. It's very sharp with lots of chances for mistakes by both sides. If you learn the lines you can get a lot of wins against players who aren't as well prepared.

Here's the best continuation of that line: 

Correct, in that variation white is losing. That's the continuation of the line Suval posted with 8.Bxd5?. Best play by white is 8.exd5 followed by 9.d6. Black has a strong attack and a big lead in development but is down a whole rook. It's a very tricky line. Theory gives white a winning advantage but in practice many more games have been won by black. White normally tries to avoid this line by playing 5.Bxf7.

"I was playing this against my brother yesterday and he played this move! I was so confused because now the e4 square is covered."

Doesn't 8...Bg4 win the Queen?

hi all

so good

So what if white plays 5. Bxf7+, how should black react then?

It's all nice if the knight takes, but what should black do if bishop does?

If I am allowed to say so, gjchess on youtube does a nice video on the traxler, he doesn't go into great detail, but it is a great introduction to the traxler, oh, it can also get you a few wins against the unprepared.

this.

he reccommends the colorado gambit as black.

the 5 games ive played as white against it, ive crushed it with little to no effort. and i rarely ever play e4.

his FIDE rating is low 1700.

i can beat him lolz and im a terrible 1850

some youtube channels are made specifically to make money, and gjchess is one of those.

What YouTube channels are good, then? Is MSK Chess good? What about Vlad Lilov or whatever his name is? Any others?

??? ^^^^^

thanks owltuna

One time i played the Traxler Super Secret Triple Probation, Thaw Before Microwaving Attack.  I went back in time for 3 minutes, and came back, and Laverne and Shirley was on.  I dont play it anymore...

same

The Traxler counter attack is much more fun than the anti-fried liver defense or the shilling gambits, that's for sure!