Improve Your Chess Games with Chess Tricks And Traps

Everyone who plays chess wants to get better at it, and usually, if you are new to chess or just a weaker player, then there is one specific person whom you wish to beat. However, each time you play that person you end up losing, always falling for this or that trap or making a bad move. You fail to see when it is that you are vulnerable and you can’t seem to capitalize on your opponent’s mistakes either.  

Once you establish a good base strategy, you need to learn how to recognize dangerous situations and potentially advantageous moves. You need to learn how to take advantage of your opponent while not succumbing to him. Below I list a number of traps that you can lay in chess. Use them yourself, and try to recognize them as your opponent uses them.

The Fried Liver Attack is a classic that is played:

1. e4 e5,
2. Nf3 Nc6,
3. Bc4 Nf6,
4. Ng5 d5,
5. ed NxP,
6. Nxf KxN,
7. Qf3+ Ke6,
8. Nc3.

A pretty trap is quite rare but is played:

1. e4 e5,
2. Nf3 d6,
3. Bc4 Bg4,
4. Nc3 g6?,
5. Nxe5 BxQ,
6. Bxf7 Ke7,
7. Nd5#.

There is a chameleon variation to the Sicilian defense, which works as a trick that makes use of the trapping pattern. It plays:

1. e4 c5,
2. Nc3 Nc6,
3. Ne2 3. … Nf6,
4. d4 4. … e6,
5. d5 ed,
6. ed Ne5,
7. g3v 7. ... Nf3#.

The Caro Kann Defence is a standard trap that follows as:

1. e4 c6,
2. d4 d5,
3. Nc3 de,
4. NxP Nd7.

An infamous trap called the Albin Counter Gambit plays:

1. d4 d5,
2. c4 e5,
3. de d4,
4. e3 4. ... Bb4+,
5. Bd2 dxe3,
6. Bxb4.

When some players see this next defense called the English Defense, they try to move the game into a calmer setting. It usually starts with:

1. c4 b6,
2. Nc3 Bb7,
3. e4 e6,
4. Nf3 Bb4
5. Qb3 and then has several variations from that point on. 

Those are some basic traps and tricks to be aware of to defend against as well as to try out and use in a chess game. Don’t be afraid to try a new trap and learn from your mistakes.