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C H A PT E R 16

Trap ping
No way to escape capture.

W H AT' S T H E B I G I D E A ?

A trapped piece is one that is stuck someplace and has no way to escape
before the enemy can take it. A trapped piece is a doomed piece.
In the diagram below, the knight on a6 is trapped by the bishop. The black king
simply strolls over and makes the capture. This position is known as a knight
corral, a corral being a fence enclosure to keep horses from roaming away.

What to do:
1 ) Find a piece that has l i m i ted ways
to escape.
2) Find ways to cut off its escape
completely.
3) Attack it.
4) Take it.

a b c d e f g h

In diagram A on the next page, the white queen can accomplish everything
in one move. 1 Qf5 , trapping and attacking the knight at the same time.
Diagram B .

142
 a b c d e f g h a b c ·d e f g h
Diag ra m A Diagram B

Another example of trapping comes from a game played in the European

Championship in 20 1 1 . The white queen has gotten a little too brave, and is
about to be punished. There is always a danger in going too far into enemy
territory with no clear exit strategy. Even the nimble queen can be caught.

Black to move . 1 ... Ne4!

tra ps the quee n .

a b c d e f g h

t 6 T ra p p i n g 143
 In the diagram below we see a self-inflicted trap that has caught many
bishops.

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
Black sees the unguarded a2-pawn The white king wi ll move to b2 and
and pou nces. 1 Bxa2?
... capture the bishop next move.
But then the trap snaps shut: 2 b3!
And the bishop has no escape.

144 T ra p p i n g t 6
 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
1 . White to move. 2 . Black to move.

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
3 . Black to move. 4 . Black to move .

Answers:
1. I b3 traps the bishop. Black s previous move was to capture the a2-pawn. That was a
mistake, as it allows the bishop to be trapped.
2. 1 . . . Kd7 and 2. . . Kc 7 catches the knight.
3. 1 . . . Bg4 traps the white queen.
4. 1 . . . b5 2 Bb3 a4 traps the bishop. This position arises after White gives a "beginner's
check" on b5. The moves were 1 e4 e5 2 Nj3 d6 3 Bb5+ (a pointless check that lets Black
stick a pawn in the bishop 's face) c6 4. Ba4 a5 (setting the trap) 5 Nc3. White does not see
it coming. 5. . . b5 6 Bb3 a4! A nd the bishop has no safe squares.

1 6 T ra p p i n g 145
 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
5 . Black to move. 6 . White to move.

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
7. White to move. 8 . Black to move.

Answers:
5. 1 . Bc4 traps the rook on fl.
. .

6. 1 Nh4 traps the queen.

7. 1 Ng6 traps thef8-rook (thef7-pawn is pinned).
8. 1 . . a6 traps the b5-knight.
.

146 T ra p p i n g 1 6
 a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
9 . White to move. 1 0. Black to move.

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
1 1 . Black to move. 1 2 . Black to move .

Answers:
9. 1 Bg5 traps the queen.
J O. 1 . .. d5 traps the knight.
11. 1 . . a5 traps the bishop.
.

12. 1 . . . g6 traps the bishop

t 6 T ra p p i n g 147
 G A M ES F E A T U R I N G TRA P P I N G

Game 33
Vienna Game
1 e4 es

2 Ne3 Ne&

3 Be4 Nf6

4 d3 Bes

S f4 d6
6 Nf3 O·O

7 NdS Be& So far Black has played very good moves, and it is not
immediately obvious that this one is not so good. Better would have been
7 . . . Nxd5 or 7 . . . Bg4
8 Nxf6+ Again, this looks like a reasonable move. 8 . . . gxf6
Qxf6
wrecks the pawns in front of the king, so why not keep the pawns intact and
develop the queen? Alas, sometimes reasonable looking moves flounder in
the face of tactics.
9 fS Bxe4

10 BgS!! Diagram. The queen is trapped.

a b e d e f g h

148 T ra p p i n g 1 6
Game 34
King's Gambit
1 e4 es

2 f4 dS This is the Falkbeer Counter Gambit

3 Nf3 dxe4

4 Nxe5 Nc6

5 White pins the knight that is already under attack. This looks
BbS
dangerous.
s ... And Black seems to ignore the threat. In fact, Black has a counter­
Nf6
threat in mind.
6 Nxc6 bxc6

7 Bxc6+ Bd7

8 Bxa8? Bg4 Diagram. The trap springs shut. Black has trapped
the queen.

t 6 T ra p p i n g 149
 Game 35
Caro-Kann
The next game shows the sacrificial wizard Rudolph Spielmann coming out
on the wrong end of an attack. He must have felt as if a beehive had fallen
on his head.
Botvinnik-Spielmann, Moscow, 1 935
1 e4 c6

2 d4 dS

3 exdS cxdS

4 c4 Nf6

5 Nc3 Nc6

6 BgS Qb6

7 cxdS It's always a bit dangerous to sweep down into

Qxb2
enemy territory with just one piece. When it's the queen, you have to be
sure you can get it back out again. And not incidentally, capturing on b2 has
been the demise of many queens.
8 Rel N b4 Is this sending in reinforcements, or will this knight
just clog up the escape?
9 Na4 Qxa2

1 0 Bc4 Bg4

11 Nf3 Bxf3
12 gxf3 Qa3

13 Rc3 Diagram. The queen is trapped. It escapes only by dropping other

pieces and getting a terrible position for the rest of the army.

a b c d e f g h

150 Tra p p i n g 1 6