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Final position — Black delivers mate

Ruy Lopez

Fishing Pole Trap #2

Black wins in 11 moves by checkmate. (Opening traps. - Fishing Pole Trap - C69 - https://lichess.org/@/Lock_day)

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O Bg4 6.h3 h5 7.hxg4 hxg4 8.Nxe5 Qh4 9.f4 g3 10.Qh5 Rxh5 11.Rf2 Qh1#
1.e4e5
2.Nf3Nc6
3.Bb5a6
4.Bxc6dxc6
5.O-OBg4
6.h3h5
7.hxg4hxg4
8.Nxe5Qh4
9.f4g3
10.Qh5Rxh5
11.Rf2Qh1#

How the Fishing Pole Trap #2 works

The Fishing Pole Trap #2 is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Ruy Lopez. In this line Black delivers checkmate on move 11, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O Bg4 6.h3 h5 7.hxg4 hxg4 8.Nxe5 Qh4 9.f4 g3 10.Qh5 Rxh5 11.Rf2 Qh1#. 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 (Opening traps. - Fishing Pole Trap - C69 - https://lichess.org/@/Lock_day). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Fishing Pole 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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