Petrov's Defence, Marshall Trap

The Marshall Trap is a chess opening in Petrov's Defence named after Frank Marshall.

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Position after 10.Re1?; Black wins with 10...Bxh2+!

The trap

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6

The trap begins with Black playing Petrov's Defence.

3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. 0-0 0-0 8. c4 Bg4 9. cxd5 f5 10. Re1? (see diagram)

White should play 10.Nc3 instead.

10... Bxh2+!

An unexpected blow.

11. Kxh2

If 11.Nxh2, then 11...Bxd1.

11...Nxf2

Black forks the white queen and bishop, forcing the queen to move.

12. Qe2 Nxd3 13. Qxd3 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 Qh4+

Followed by 15...Qxe1 winning the e1-rook. Black has a winning material advantage.

References

• Hooper, David; Whyld, Kenneth (1996) [First pub. 1992]. "Marshall Trap". The Oxford Companion to Chess (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 249. ISBN 0-19-280049-3.