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Opening traps
Compiled by FSR
--*--

1.e3 - I recreate a queen trap from du Mont's book
NN vs F Rhine, 2019 
(A00) Uncommon Opening, 5 moves, 0-1

From's Gambit mate
P Pantelidakis vs F Rhine, 1974 
(A02) Bird's Opening, 6 moves, 0-1

From's Gambit - my shortest tournament win
P Napetschnig vs F Rhine, 1977 
(A02) Bird's Opening, 5 moves, 0-1

From's Gambit
NN vs M Bier, 1905 
(A02) Bird's Opening, 11 moves, 0-1

English - the fork trick fails to another fork trick
A C Chow vs E Karklins, 1979 
(A18) English, Mikenas-Carls, 7 moves, 0-1

Reversed Sicilian 3...g6 (6...Nce7! is correct)
D Andreikin vs Karjakin, 2010 
(A27) English, Three Knights System, 10 moves, 1-0

Only in correspondence chess - or bullet
J F Campbell vs A Ehrlich, 1990 
(A40) Queen's Pawn Game, 3 moves, 1-0

The classic Englund Gambit trap
H Silbermann vs Honich, 1930 
(A40) Queen's Pawn Game, 8 moves, 0-1

Englund Gambit, a sleazy blitz trap
NN vs F Rhine, 2020 
(A40) Queen's Pawn Game, 13 moves, 0-1

English/Benoni Declined - Qa5+ spears a knight on e5
R Combe vs W Hasenfuss, 1933 
(A43) Old Benoni, 4 moves, 0-1

My favorite trap against the evil London System
Shuler vs C S Hall, 1990 
(A45) Queen's Pawn Game, 6 moves, 0-1

Trompowsky - shades of Schlechter-Perlis
S Terentiev vs J Gallagher, 1990 
(A45) Queen's Pawn Game, 22 moves, 0-1

Trompowsky - shortest decisive master game
Z Djordjevic vs M Kovacevic, 1984 
(A45) Queen's Pawn Game, 3 moves, 0-1

Richter-Veresov Attack 3...c5 (a beautiful queen sac!)
E Sollano vs F Rhine, 1977 
(A45) Queen's Pawn Game, 12 moves, 0-1

Colle Attack, Karklins Gambit
NN vs F Rhine, 2019 
(A46) Queen's Pawn Game, 11 moves, 0-1

London System
M Knezevic vs Miles, 1986 
(A46) Queen's Pawn Game, 24 moves, 1-0

Budapest Fajarowicz
L Alster vs Prochazka, 1944 
(A51) Budapest Gambit, 11 moves, 1-0

Budapest, famous super-brevity
F B Arnold vs M L Hanauer, 1936 
(A51) Budapest Gambit, 5 moves, 0-1

Budapest Fajarowicz ...Nxf2!
M Warren vs J Selman, 1930 
(A51) Budapest Gambit, 6 moves, 0-1

The famous Budapest trap
Henricksen vs Pedersen, 1937 
(A52) Budapest Gambit, 8 moves, 0-1

Budapest
C Pesantes Carbajal vs J Sampouw, 1972
(A52) Budapest Gambit, 20 moves, 1-0

Dutch, 2.h3
C F Johansson vs M Hernback, 1997 
(A80) Dutch, 6 moves, 1-0

Dutch, 2.Bg5 - Black gets greedy
F Teed vs E Delmar, 1896 
(A80) Dutch, 8 moves, 1-0

A Scandinavian beauty
R Runau vs Schmidt, 1972 
(B00) Uncommon King's Pawn Opening, 16 moves, 1-0

Scandinavian 3...Qc6??
K D Reichwald vs G Scheuerlein, 2011 
(B01) Scandinavian, 4 moves, 1-0

Scandinavian 2...Nf6, 6.c5
Timman vs M Ahmed Bakali, 1974 
(B01) Scandinavian, 8 moves, 1-0

Scandinavian, pseudo-queen sac
J Mieses vs J Ohquist, 1895 
(B01) Scandinavian, 7 moves, 1-0

Scandinavian, Portuguese - GM mated in 13 moves!
W Zili vs R Damaso, 1996 
(B01) Scandinavian, 13 moves, 0-1

Pirc Defense 4.Bg5 Bg7 5.e5!?
Hjorleifur Halldorsson vs C P Smith, 2017
(B07) Pirc, 24 moves, 1-0

Caro-Kann, Two Knights Variation
Lasker vs H Mueller, 1934 
(B10) Caro-Kann, 32 moves, 1-0

Caro-Kann 4...Nf6 5.Qd3
Reti vs Tartakower, 1910 
(B15) Caro-Kann, 11 moves, 1-0

Caro-Kann 4...Nd7, smothered mate
F Vogt vs H Lehmann, 1947 
(B17) Caro-Kann, Steinitz Variation, 6 moves, 1-0

Caro-Kann 4...Nd7
B Perenyi vs L Eperjesi, 1974 
(B17) Caro-Kann, Steinitz Variation, 14 moves, 1-0

Caro-Kann 4...Nd7 - Ba5! traps the queen
A Karklins vs Dlugy, 1986 
(B17) Caro-Kann, Steinitz Variation, 22 moves, 1-0

Caro-Kann 5.Bd3 gambit - shades of Reti-Tartakower
Koltanowski vs A Dunkelblum, 1923 
(B18) Caro-Kann, Classical, 15 moves, 1-0

Sicilian, Wing Gambit (shortest win in U.S. Championship)
K Shirazi vs J Peters, 1984 
(B20) Sicilian, 5 moves, 0-1

Sicilian, Smith-Morra, Siberian Trap
G Rohit vs K Szabo, 2001 
(B21) Sicilian, 2.f4 and 2.d4, 9 moves, 0-1

Chameleon Sicilian - smothered mate on move 4!
C F Heng vs B Oh, 2017 
(B23) Sicilian, Closed, 4 moves, 0-1

Nimzowitsch Sicilian 4...Nxc3 5.dxc3 b6?? 6.e6!!
L Rellstab vs W Schoenmann, 1932 
(B29) Sicilian, Nimzovich-Rubinstein, 23 moves, 1-0

Sicilian - the Polar Vortex Trap, my invention
NN vs F Rhine, 2019 
(B30) Sicilian, 10 moves, 0-1

Sicilian, Accelerated Dragon
Fischer vs Reshevsky, 1958 
(B32) Sicilian, 42 moves, 1-0

Sicilian Sveshnikov, 7.Nd5
A Paramzina vs R Brambilla, 2021 
(B33) Sicilian, 11 moves, 1-0

Sicilian Kan, Maroczy Bind, ...Bc5 wins the queen
D Gonzales vs J Frenklakh, 1995 
(B41) Sicilian, Kan, 10 moves, 0-1

Sicilian, Magnus Smith Trap
Fischer vs NN, 1964 
(B56) Sicilian, 9 moves, 1-0

Sicilian Dragon 6.g3
W Ritson-Morry vs G T Crown, 1947 
(B58) Sicilian, 10 moves, 0-1

Sicilian Richter-Rauzer 6...Qb6 (but 10.Rb1! +- refutes)
NN vs F Rhine, 2020 
(B60) Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer, 12 moves, 0-1

Sicilian Richter-Rauzer 7...a6 8.O-O-O h6
A Kornfeld vs D Sprenkle, 1977 
(B62) Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer, 17 moves, 0-1

A typical trap in the Richter-Rauzer
A J Fulton vs L Luk, 1984 
(B67) Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 7...a6 Defense, 8...Bd7, 35 moves, 0-1

Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer
A Jain vs J Anderson, 2007
(B68) Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 7...a6 Defense, 9...Be7, 15 moves, 0-1

Sicilian Levenfish claims another victim
F Brady vs S H Langer, 1960 
(B71) Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation, 10 moves, 1-0

Exchange French - Black gets his bishop trapped
C Hansen vs P Rodas, 1980 
(C01) French, Exchange, 6 moves, 1-0

French, classical queen trap I
A Meszaros vs A Sherzer, 1988 
(C07) French, Tarrasch, 17 moves, 1-0

French, classic queen trap II
F Rhine vs NN, 2020 
(C10) French, 22 moves, 1-0

French - Qe4 forks rook and h7
J Lakdawala vs M Nietman, 1987 
(C11) French, 11 moves, 1-0

Alapin's Opening
W G Stenhouse vs R Treece, 1950 
(C20) King's Pawn Game, 12 moves, 1-0

Vienna Game
I A Horowitz vs NN, 1940 
(C23) Bishop's Opening, 14 moves, 1-0

Bishop's Opening/Vienna 3...Nxe4 4.Bxf7+?!
Kutjanin vs Jakobjuk, 1940 
(C23) Bishop's Opening, 7 moves, 1-0

King's Gambit, fxe5?? I
O Rigaud vs J Cooper, 1974 
(C30) King's Gambit Declined, 5 moves, 0-1

King's Gambit, fxe5?? II
A Liang vs N Sarin, 2022 
(C30) King's Gambit Declined, 8 moves, 0-1

Philidor's - the weakness of f7 tells
Fischer vs Fine, 1963 
(C41) Philidor Defense, 10 moves, 1-0

Philidor's, Hanham, queen trap
N Krogius vs N Aratovsky, 1945 
(C41) Philidor Defense, 12 moves, 1-0

Petroff
Dominguez Perez vs E Moradiabadi, 2022 
(C42) Petrov Defense, 10 moves, 1-0

Anand loses in 6! - Petroff 5.Nc3 Bf5??
A Zapata vs Anand, 1988 
(C42) Petrov Defense, 6 moves, 1-0

Petroff 5.Nc3 Qe7??
D Gantsevich vs M Biyachuev, 2012 
(C42) Petrov Defense, 58 moves, 1-0

Damiano Petroff - 4...Nc6??
Koltanowski vs K Diller, 1960 
(C42) Petrov Defense, 5 moves, 1-0

Damiano Petroff, bishop trap line
M Haubro vs V Stefansson, 2022
(C42) Petrov Defense, 19 moves, 0-1

Stafford Gambit - Légal's Mate
N Vanderhallen vs B Skjoldan, 1998 
(C42) Petrov Defense, 8 moves, 0-1

Stafford Gambit (by transposition) - but 6...Nxe4! is best
NN vs F Rhine, 2017 
(A04) Reti Opening, 9 moves, 0-1

Stafford Gambit
S Tadic vs E Rosen, 2020 
(C42) Petrov Defense, 9 moves, 0-1

Stafford Gambit beats a GM
S Erenburg vs E Rosen, 2024 
(C42) Petrov Defense, 14 moves, 0-1

Stafford Gambit
J Zienkiewicz vs F Mallassagne, 2020
(C42) Petrov Defense, 9 moves, 0-1

Eric Rosen's most beautiful win with the Stafford Gambit
Dmitry Zhuchek vs E Rosen, 2021 
(C42) Petrov Defense, 22 moves, 0-1

Three Knights Game 3...g6 (6...Nce7! is correct)
B Blumenfeld vs NN, 1903 
(C45) Scotch Game, 10 moves, 1-0

Scotch Game - a predecessor of the Reti-Tartakower theme
L Maczuski vs Kolisch, 1863 
(C45) Scotch Game, 15 moves, 1-0

Scotch, Steinitz Variation - queen trap
P Frazer vs Taubenhaus, 1888 
(C45) Scotch Game, 8 moves, 1-0

The infamous "Blackburne Shilling Gambit"
Muehlock vs Kostic, 1912 
(C50) Giuoco Piano, 7 moves, 0-1

Ruy Lopez 3...Nge7 - a surprising finish
G Thorhallsson vs B Thorfinnsson, 2009 
(C60) Ruy Lopez, 10 moves, 0-1

Ruy Lopez, Mortimer Trap
Jana Boehm vs Swenja Wagner, 2015
(C65) Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defense, 20 moves, 0-1

Ruy Lopez, Berlin 5.Re1, 10.Bd3!? exchange sac
Karjakin vs Topalov, 2019 
(C67) Ruy Lopez, 18 moves, 1-0

Ruy Lopez, Exchange (fishing pole)
Privalov vs V Malaniuk, 1974 
(C69) Ruy Lopez, Exchange, Gligoric Variation, 15 moves, 0-1

Ruy Lopez, Noah's Ark Trap
R Dworzynski vs Keres, 1956 
(C71) Ruy Lopez, 11 moves, 0-1

Ruy Lopez, O-O-O+! wins Black's rook on b2
O Feuer vs O'Kelly, 1934 
(C73) Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Defense, 13 moves, 1-0

Richter-Veresov, piece trap
A Dias Huizar vs E Daverio, 2021 
(D01) Richter-Veresov Attack, 6 moves, 1-0

Slav - Lasker's shortest loss
H Caro vs Lasker, 1890 
(D02) Queen's Pawn Game, 14 moves, 1-0

London System, a surprising Greek gift
Kamsky vs Shankland, 2014 
(D02) Queen's Pawn Game, 31 moves, 1-0

QGD Marshall, Greek gift
F Rhine vs NN, 2020
(D06) Queen's Gambit Declined, 12 moves, 1-0

QGD Marshall, Greek gift (12.Qg4!! is even better)
F Rhine vs NN, 2021 
(D06) Queen's Gambit Declined, 13 moves, 1-0

QGD Marshall, pseudo-queen sacrifice
D Genz vs D Boehmer, 1985 
(D06) Queen's Gambit Declined, 11 moves, 1-0

And another!
F Rhine vs NN, 2017 
(D06) Queen's Gambit Declined, 12 moves, 1-0

And yet another!
F Rhine vs NN, 2021
(D06) Queen's Gambit Declined, 12 moves, 1-0

QGD Chigorin
M R Taylor vs M Hardman, 2006
(D07) Queen's Gambit Declined, Chigorin Defense, 27 moves, 1-0

Albin Counter-Gambit, Lasker Trap
G Thompson vs Lasker, 1902 
(D08) Queen's Gambit Declined, Albin Counter Gambit, 13 moves, 0-1

Albin Counter-Gambit, smothered mate
D Miller vs Peterson, 1959 
(D08) Queen's Gambit Declined, Albin Counter Gambit, 8 moves, 0-1

Slav - Qa5+ winning a bishop on g5
NN vs F Rhine, 2011 
(D10) Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, 22 moves, 0-1

Slav - early ...Bf5 gets Black in trouble
F Rhine vs NN, 2007 
(D10) Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, 11 moves, 1-0

Slav - a classic promotion combination
Schlechter vs J Perlis, 1911 
(D12) Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, 10 moves, 1-0

QGA, 5...Qa5+ picks up a knight on g5
I Farago vs V Bliumberg, 1994 
(D21) Queen's Gambit Accepted, 5 moves, 0-1

QGA - similar to the Siberian Trap
T Hoang vs D Belenkaya, 2017
(D27) Queen's Gambit Accepted, Classical, 22 moves, 0-1

QGD, Exchange Variation
Kotov vs Petrosian, 1949 
(D35) Queen's Gambit Declined, 13 moves, 1-0

QGD, Elephant Trap
C Mayet vs Harrwitz, 1848 
(D51) Queen's Gambit Declined, 8 moves, 0-1

QGD Rubinstein Trap, Part I
Euwe vs Rubinstein, 1928 
(D63) Queen's Gambit Declined, Orthodox Defense, 55 moves, 1-0

QGD Rubinstein Trap, Part II
Alekhine vs Rubinstein, 1930 
(D63) Queen's Gambit Declined, Orthodox Defense, 46 moves, 1-0

Bogo-Indian tragicomedy
L Palau vs S Kalabar, 1927 
(E11) Bogo-Indian Defense, 5 moves, 1-0

Queen's Indian - Karpov falls into a double attack
L Christiansen vs Karpov, 1993 
(E12) Queen's Indian, 12 moves, 1-0

Caro-Kann, smothered mate on move 5!
Rapport vs T Rogers, 2014 
(B10) Caro-Kann, 5 moves, 1-0

Sicilian Dragon 6.Be3 Ng4??
V Borsony vs A Laustsen, 1956 
(B70) Sicilian, Dragon Variation, 7 moves, 1-0

QGA 3.e3 - Black gets greedy
Greco vs NN, 1620 
(D20) Queen's Gambit Accepted, 6 moves, 1-0

Grob Gambit 5...cxd5?? (5...exd5! is correct)
P H Nielsen vs L Sawlin, 2015 
(A00) Uncommon Opening, 6 moves, 1-0

Sicilian Kan 5.Bf4??
NN vs B Pandolfini, 1967 
(B28) Sicilian, O'Kelly Variation, 6 moves, 0-1

Philidor's Defense, Hanham
Polo vs Pasqualini, 1923 
(C41) Philidor Defense, 9 moves, 1-0

Philidor's Defense, Hanham
F Rhine vs NN, 2021 
(C41) Philidor Defense, 10 moves, 1-0

Tarrasch French - White "wins" Black's queen
J McDonnell vs E Player, 2000
(C05) French, Tarrasch, 16 moves, 0-1

QGA
Mamedyarov vs Kasparov, 2021 
(D20) Queen's Gambit Accepted, 7 moves, 1-0

Slav 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Qb3, queen trap
N Peregudov vs B Asanov, 1994
(D23) Queen's Gambit Accepted, 11 moves, 0-1

Larsen's Opening
B Adhiban vs Navara, 2021 
(A01) Nimzovich-Larsen Attack, 9 moves, 1-0

London System - Black blunders into checkmate
Kamsky vs G Souleidis, 2024
(D02) Queen's Pawn Game, 8 moves, 1-0

Catalan - Black blunders a piece
A Erigaisi vs H Bharathakoti, 2021
(E01) Catalan, Closed, 7 moves, 1-0

Albin Counter-Gambit 3.e3
NN vs Livingstone, 1941 
(C01) French, Exchange, 10 moves, 0-1

Caruana vs Firouzja, 2024 
(A11) English, Caro-Kann Defensive System, 9 moves, 1-0

Sicilian, Smith-Morra Gambit
Paul Godfrey vs A L MacFarlane, 1998 
(B21) Sicilian, 2.f4 and 2.d4, 47 moves, 1-0

Albin Counter-Gambit
F Rhine vs NN, 2023 
(D09) Queen's Gambit Declined, Albin Counter Gambit, 5.g3, 13 moves, 1-0

B Holtrop vs R Straat, 2000 
(D87) Grunfeld, Exchange, 15 moves, 0-1

Carapelli vs F K Young, 1874 
(C40) King's Knight Opening, 13 moves, 0-1

NN vs F Rhine, 2025
(A45) Queen's Pawn Game, 5 moves, 0-1

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