Lasker Trap
White takes your bishop, and your pawn runs to the last row and becomes a knight with check. It wins the queen.
46%of players rated around 800 take the bishop here
Your opponent's Chess.com rating
Playing White against it? Defend against it
Good to know
- Opening
- Albin Countergambit
- You play
- Black
- The trap is set on
- Move 5
- What you win
- White's queen
- If they do not bite
- A small edge for you
- Games counted
- 260,903 on Lichess
How to defend against the Lasker Trap
Take the pawn with your f pawn. 47% of players rated around 800 find it. Take the pawn, not the bishop, and nothing runs through.
A level game.
The way out, move by move, as WhiteLasker Trap moves
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 d4 4.e3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 dxe3 6.Bxb4 exf2+ 7.Ke2 fxg1=N+ 8.Rxg1 Bg4+ 9.Ke1 Qxd1+
- 1.d4White pushes the queen's pawn
The other common first move.
- 1…d5Push your queen's pawn too
Meet White in the centre.
- 2.c4White plays the Queen's Gambit
The c pawn attacks your pawn on d5.
- 2…e5Push your king's pawn two squares
This is the Albin Countergambit. You give up a pawn for space.
- 3.dxe5White takes the pawn
Now push past.
- 3…d4Push your d pawn forward
The pawn is stronger here than it looks.
- 4.e3White attacks your pawn
This natural move is the mistake the trap needs.
- 4…Bb4+Check with your bishop
White has to block.
- 5.Bd2The bishop blocks
Now White's bishop attacks yours.
- 5…dxe3Take the pawn on e3
You leave your bishop to be taken. You want White's bishop to take it.
- 6.Bxb4White takes your bishop
46% of players rated around 800 take it. This is the mistake.
- 6…exf2+Take the pawn on f2 with check
The king cannot take your pawn, because then your queen takes the white queen.
- 7.Ke2The king steps up
The only move that keeps the queen.
- 7…fxg1=N+Take the knight and make a knight
A new queen would let White trade queens. A knight gives check and wins.
- 8.Rxg1The rook takes your new knight
91% of them take it. Now the king and queen stand in a line.
- 8…Bg4+Check with your bishop
The bishop checks the king, and the white queen is right behind it.
- 9.Ke1The king steps back
The queen is left to be taken.
- 9…Qxd1+Take White's queen
You are a queen up.
You win the queen.
See it one move at a timeLasker Trap questions
What if they do not fall for the Lasker Trap?
54% of players rated around 800 play something else. Then a small edge for you.
How do you defend against the Lasker Trap?
As White, take the pawn with your f pawn. 47% of players rated around 800 find it. Take the pawn, not the bishop, and nothing runs through. A level game.
What do you win with the Lasker Trap?
White's queen. In the main line, you win the queen.
At what rating does the Lasker Trap work?
It works best against players around 800, where 46% take the bishop. Against players around 2000, 27% do.
More traps
All opening trapsCounted from the rated blitz, rapid and classical games on Lichess that reached this position. Ratings are shown as Chess.com ratings: the games are grouped by Lichess rating, which runs higher, and each group is named by the Chess.com rating it comes to in ChessGoals' comparison of players with an account on both. A rating with fewer than 300 such games shows no number.