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Englund Gambit trap

Black throws a pawn at White on move one, and one natural-looking bishop move can end in mate on c1.

Trap · as Black

The trap

  1. 1.d4 · White opens with the queen's pawn.
  2. 1...e5?! · The Englund Gambit: Black offers a pawn on the very first move.
  3. 2.dxe5 · White takes the free pawn.
  4. 2...Nc6 · The knight attacks the pawn on e5 straight away.
  5. 3.Nf3 · White defends the extra pawn with the knight.
  6. 3...Qe7 · Black's queen joins the attack on e5 and quietly sets up the trap.
  7. 4.Bf4 · White guards e5 again. It looks rock solid.
  8. 4...Qb4+ · The queen checks and, at the same time, eyes the pawn on b2.
  9. 5.Bd2 · White blocks with the bishop. Normal, and still perfectly fine.
  10. 5...Qxb2 · The queen grabs b2 and now attacks the rook in the corner.
  11. 6.Bc3?? · Hitting the queen looks strong, but it walks into a pin. Two more natural moves and c1 becomes a mating square.
  12. 6...Bb4! · The bishop pins White's bishop to the king, so it can no longer take the queen.
  13. 7.Qd2? · White adds a defender to c3, but the queen leaving d1 opens the door to c1.
  14. 7...Bxc3 · Black takes the bishop, and White has to decide how to take back.
  15. 8.Qxc3?? · Taking back with the queen looks natural, but it leaves c1 unguarded.
  16. 8...Qc1# · Checkmate. The queen lands on c1, and the king on e1 has nowhere to go.

How to beat it

  1. 6.Nc3! · Develop instead. With the knight gone from b1, the queen now guards the rook on a1, and White is already better.
  2. 6...Bb4 · Black puts pressure on the knight, still hoping for tricks.
  3. 7.Rb1 · The rook steps out of the corner with tempo, chasing the queen.
  4. 7...Qa3 · The queen keeps guard over the bishop from a3.
  5. 8.Nd5 · The knight jumps to d5, hitting the bishop on b4 and the pawn on c7. White's pieces are flying.

The story

The Englund Gambit carries the name of the Swedish player Fritz Englund, and it is a cheeky way to meet 1.d4: Black simply gives away the e-pawn on move one and hopes White grabs greedily. Strong players have never trusted it, and with good reason: White can keep the pawn and develop calmly.

What keeps it alive is one beautiful trick. After the queen checks on b4 and grabs the pawn on b2, the obvious way to chase her, 6.Bc3, walks into a pin, and two natural-looking moves later the queen lands on c1 with checkmate. It is short, it looks like magic, and Chess.com counts it among the ten best traps in chess.

The cure is just as short. Instead of hitting the queen, develop the knight to c3. That lets the queen guard the rook along the back rank, and Black's queen is left far from home with nothing to show for the pawn.

Sources: Chess.com: Englund Gambit · Chess.com: The 10 best chess traps · 365Chess: Englund Gambit

Verdict

Dubious · one trick, then trouble

Gambit

More

Opening names and lines: Lichess chess-openings (CC0) · Not affiliated with Lichess.