The Stafford Gambit trap: why Bg5 loses to ...Nxe4

The Stafford Gambit gives up a pawn on move three for quick piece play and a stack of traps. Against careful play it doesn't hold up, but in fast online games it catches plenty of players, and the most common way is a natural developing move: 6.Bg5.

The line

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nc6 4.Nxc6 dxc6. White is a pawn up. 5.d3, protecting e4, is the most solid reply, and Black usually answers 5...Bc5, aiming at f2.

The trap: 6.Bg5??

6.Bg5 pins the knight to Black's queen, which looks like good development. But the knight moves anyway: 6...Nxe4! If White takes the queen, 7.Bxd8?? Bxf2+ 8.Ke2 Bg4 is mate.

The other replies lose material too. 7.dxe4 Bxf2+ 8.Ke2 Bg4+ 9.Kxf2 Qxd1 wins White's queen. White's best, 7.Be3 or 7.Qe2, still leaves Black clearly better, with White's king exposed.

In rated online games in our library, 11% of players who reached this position played 6.Bg5??, about one in nine.

What to play instead: 6.Be2 or 6.h3

Black's pieces want the g4 square: the bishop for the mate above, the knight for ...Ng4 attacks on f2. 6.Be2 covers g4 and gets ready to castle; 6.h3 keeps Black's pieces off it. Either way White keeps the extra pawn and the better game. 6.Be3, offering to trade off the bishop on c5, is also fine.

The idea to remember

In the Stafford, f2 is the weak point, and g4 is the square Black's attack needs. Before you pin the knight or take on e4, ask what ...Nxe4 and ...Bxf2+ do. A piece that leaves a pin can still be the strongest move on the board.

Train it

This is one of the opening traps OptiChess teaches as a play-through: the moves play themselves until the moment you need to look closely, then you find the move. The habit behind it, asking what your opponent can do after your move, is the blunder check.

Read more

• Why puzzles don't transfer to your games

More opening traps

• The Englund Gambit trap
• How to stop Scholar's Mate
• When Scholar's Mate fails
• The King's Gambit trap
• Two Knights Defense, 4.Ng5 Nxe4
• The Scotch Game trap
• The trapped knight on a5

Ways to train

• Chess tactics trainer
• Chess blunder trainer
• Chess pawn structures
• Chess endgame trainer
• Positional chess training
• Analyse your chess games