Final position — Black delivers mate
Blackburne Shilling Gambit Trap
Black wins in 7 moves by checkmate. (Muhlock - Kostics, Cologne 1912)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bc4 | Nd4 |
| 4. | Nxe5 | Qg5 |
| 5. | Nxf7 | Qxg2 |
| 6. | Rf1 | Qxe4+ |
| 7. | Be2 | Nf3# |
How the Blackburne Shilling Gambit Trap works
The Blackburne Shilling Gambit Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Italian Game. In this line Black delivers checkmate on move 7, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Nxe5 Qg5 5.Nxf7 Qxg2 6.Rf1 Qxe4+ 7.Be2 Nf3#. Each move looks reasonable, which is exactly why the trap is so effective over the board — White walks into it while trying to play "normal" developing moves.
This pattern is well known from master and correspondence play (Muhlock - Kostics, Cologne 1912). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Blackburne Shilling Gambit Trap in the Trapsterapp to play it out on a live board, drill it in practice mode, and learn how to avoid it when it's set for you — along with the full library of chess traps and gambits, fully offline.