abcdefgh

Final position — White delivers mate

Bishop's opening

Bishops Opening Trap 2

White wins in 15 moves by checkmate. (Traps - Chess Traps - Bishops Opening Trap 2 - C23 - https://lichess.org/@/gambits2pieces)

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.d4 exd4 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Qh5+ g6 6.Qxc5 Nc6 7.Nf3 d6 8.Qd5+ Be6 9.Ng5+ Kg7 10.Nxe6+ Kf7 11.Nxd8+ Ke8 12.Nf7 Nb4 13.Qe6+ Kf8 14.Nxh8 Re8 15.Qf7#
1.e4e5
2.Bc4Bc5
3.d4exd4
4.Bxf7+Kxf7
5.Qh5+g6
6.Qxc5Nc6
7.Nf3d6
8.Qd5+Be6
9.Ng5+Kg7
10.Nxe6+Kf7
11.Nxd8+Ke8
12.Nf7Nb4
13.Qe6+Kf8
14.Nxh8Re8
15.Qf7#

How the Bishops Opening Trap 2 works

The Bishops Opening Trap 2 is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Bishop's opening. In this line White delivers checkmate on move 15, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.d4 exd4 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Qh5+ g6 6.Qxc5 Nc6 7.Nf3 d6 8.Qd5+ Be6 9.Ng5+ Kg7 10.Nxe6+ Kf7 11.Nxd8+ Ke8 12.Nf7 Nb4 13.Qe6+ Kf8 14.Nxh8 Re8 15.Qf7#. Each move looks reasonable, which is exactly why the trap is so effective over the board — Black walks into it while trying to play "normal" developing moves.

This pattern is well known from master and correspondence play (Traps - Chess Traps - Bishops Opening Trap 2 - C23 - https://lichess.org/@/gambits2pieces). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Bishops Opening Trap 2 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.

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