Chess opening traps

A run of opening moves that tempts the opponent into a natural-looking mistake. The bait is usually a free pawn or piece, or a check that looks strong; the punishment is a lost piece, a lost queen or checkmate a few moves later.

For opponents rated around 800, the traps that catch the most players are the ones where the bait is a free piece: Noah's Ark Trap, the Damiano Defence trap and the Fried Liver Attack each catch well over half of the players who reach the position. Scholar's Mate is the most famous, but far fewer players fall for it, because everyone has seen it. Pick a rating above and the list sorts itself.

Less often, and for some traps much less often. Pick 2000 on the rating picker and the percentages fall, and a few traps show no number at all because almost nobody at that level reaches the position. Against strong players a trap is a bonus, not a plan: play the opening because it is sound, and take the trap only when it is offered.

Every lesson covers that. Some traps cost nothing when declined and leave you a normal position; others, like the Englund Gambit and the Stafford Gambit, leave you a pawn down against careful play. Each trap's page says which under "If they do not bite".

From rated blitz, rapid and classical games on Lichess that reached each trap position. The percentage is the share of those games in which the opponent played the losing move. Ratings are shown as Chess.com ratings, converted with ChessGoals' comparison of players who have accounts on both sites. A rating with fewer than 300 games at a position shows no number.

Yes. Every trap has a Play it yourself page with one opponent for every reply real players at your chosen rating give, the most common first: one takes the bait, the others do not, and you have to find the right moves against each. You keep a score.