The board game with the white and black squares, Chess is a gamer delight who are looking to put their brains to work and defeat the opposition of their own caliber. It is not luck, chance, or odds but the pure power of brains and planning that will see you emerge victorious in the famed board game. With 64 squares arranged in 8×8 grids in blacks and whites, the players have to defeat the opposition by capturing their pieces, and an assured win in a chess game is by capturing the King.
Being a game of two swords it is obvious that players will be plotting moves to lure their opponents in making a mistake. This is where the chess traps come into play. A trap is a move where the opponent is forced to make a move that results in your getting a decisive breakthrough in capturing their pieces, moreover using traps in the initial stages of the game you can capture the opponent’s king thus winning the game.
There are a number of traps chess geeks have been using to their advantage but we have identified three such traps that have made a lasting impact on the game of chess. These three taps are The Fool’s Mate, The Scholar’s Mate, and The Legal’s Mate. Now to try and embed these traps into your chess gameplay, it is important to know more about them in detail. So let us get into it.
Trap 1: Fool’s Mate
Fool’s mate is the swift and the quickest checkmating pattern in the chess game that can occur in just moves. This is a black piece two-move checkmate, the same can be attained with white but three moves are needed to land this trap with white pieces. This perhaps is the mistake on the hand of the white counterpart than a trap set by the black. It is a perfect homerun opportunity for black and that is why it is so quick.
The Fool’s Mate is opened up when White makes an opening in a diagonal pattern by raising the pawn without ensuring the safety of the king. Here the black with just a swift move of its Queen lands a vital check and mate onto the opponent’s King. There’s a reason why this is called a fool’s mate as the white has to commit two blunders of a mistake to be in such a situation. However, new chess players do not hesitate to try this trap on to their opponents as it is a well-known move.
The best way to stay aware of this pattern is to stay focused in the game and not launch your pawns for the sake of it. The f2 and f7 are one of the weakest squares on your chess board so refrain from opening a window that could be your own demise. The first indicator you are falling for this trap would be that the opponent has launched the pawn just ahead of his King to launch the Queen to set a fool’s mate on you. Surely two blunder mistakes and two moves of checkmate loss is not a desired result for any chess player.
The Scholar’s Mate
The Scholar’s Mate is yet another famous checkmate pattern used by players across the globe. This ends the game in just four moves with the help of the bishop and a queen. The moves is initiated by a mistake of the opposition when they move the f7 pawn which then leaves the King in a vulnerable position. It is deceptive to know that the move is being plotted against you as it looks like a normal movement of the chess board, only it is not as the bishop and the Queen are out to hunt and with the scholar’s mate, they successfully capture the King.
The moves required for this trap is simple, a pawn from b4 is released and thus it creates space for the white-placed bishop to commence the attack. This space is further utilized by the Queen that moves to d5 and from there on the black pawn on f7 is captured by the Queen and thus the scholar’s mate has been successfully implemented. Here even if the King tries to capture the Queen the bishop acts as the cover from c4 on the whiteboard of the chess.
There are a few ways that you can dodge this trap, the first sensible move is to move g6 with the black pawn. What this does is put the white queen on an alert as there is a possible retaliation, thus the white will not risk the queen in early trade-offs, so the sensible move here by the white will be to back off. Another way to defend this is to move your queen to e7 square, so even if the white queen takes out the f7 pawn your black queen can retaliate. However, you could potentially lose out on your queen in the early stages but save your king and still remain in the fight.
The Legal’s Mate
The Legal’s Mate is a different move and not as easy to master as the Fool’s and the Scholar’s Mate. Here the white player has to launch the bishop and the two knights on an offensive luring out the opposition black bishop only to know that the real target was their own king. This mate is usually used in the initial stages when the players are trying to test each other out.
In a legal’s mate, a pawn in front of the king on the white side is launched, thereafter the knight moves to g3 followed by the bishop who takes up c4. Seeing this the opponent’s bishop is out for a counter-offensive, and this is where the plan sets in motion. Another knight from b3 joins the white entourage. The knight from f3 takes out the black pawn on e5 thus forcing the black bishop to make a move as the white queen has him locked in her sights. Next thing you know black bishop takes out the white queen, while the white bishop from c4 makes the move in taking out the pawn from f7 thus handing out a check.
Now, the black king cannot retaliate and capture the white bishop as the knight on e5 would checkmate the king. So King has no option but to move one square ahead in e7 and this is where the final nail in the coffin is struck. The white knight from c3 moves to d5 and now the king has nowhere to go. Take out the bishop, knight has his backing, move a step back the bishop captures, and move to d7 the knight from e5 mates the king. So with no move ahead, a successful legal’s mate has been handed out.
Also Read: 7 Incredible Benefits of Bringing Chess Games into Your Day-to-Day Life
Counter Measurements and Defense Strategies in Chess Against Traps
It is a given that in a game of chess, your opposition will try to set you up using traps, and Fools, Scholar or Legal mates are the potential ways they can lure you into making mistakes. So how do you safeguard your progress in chess and not get caught off guard in the initial stages? Let us uncover the basics we should stick by in our bid to not get lured into a trap.
First and foremost, do not hastily launch your pawns forward just for the sake of it. It is understood that pawns serve a sacrificial role but that does not mean you are careless with them. Always plan ahead and launch the pawns. Next is to think twice before leaving out the King in the open and defenseless. In the initial stages, you need to work out a plan to test out the opponents and not fall into the traps. Certainly leaving your King in a vulnerable position can’t be a good start for you.
The other important step you can undertake is to devise a plan on pawn and piece structuring, especially in the opening phases of the game. Know about the different traps, practice them, and play with these traps on the offensive, only then will you be able to grasp the movement of the opposition in the competitive setting. Know the patterns of a trap, and adjust or move accordingly. Another practical piece of advice would be to play to game on a regular basis, experiment with it, and try to have fun.
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India Ka Naya Maidan has been fearless and optimistic in its best-in-class chess offerings. So take note of the above-mentioned blog and the content in devising the chess strategy that will guide you to victory. Learn how to deal with traps in chess and what are the necessary steps you can take to avoid falling into the pit of the trap. Chess game download is possible through Playerzpot’s website and both Android and iOS app store, so being your chess conquest today.
