Published by ChessLens Team
Opening traps are tricky, but they are easy to avoid if you know they exist. Most traps rely on the opponent playing greedily or carelessly. Here are the most famous traps you need to know.
This is the most common trap. White brings the queen and bishop to attack f7. The easiest defense is to simply block the queen's diagonal with 3...g6 or block the bishop with 3...Nf6. Don't panic; just defend the threat calmly.
In the Italian Game, if Black is careless, White can sacrifice a knight on f7 with 4.Nxf7!?. This is the Fried Liver Attack. It looks terrifying, but Black can survive with precise defense (5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Ke8). If you play the Two Knights Defense, study this line carefully.
This is a classic trap in the Italian Game. White "hangs" their queen, but if Black takes it, White delivers checkmate with a series of brilliant bishop and knight moves. It teaches you to always check if a sacrifice is dangerous.