How to Successfully Set Traps and Decoys (and Avoiding Them Yourself)
Hi! This is FM Viktor Neustroev.
You know, it’s a real pleasure to get your opponent trapped into an opening (that you prepared well) or just create a trap during the game and enjoy the moment your opponent makes a move and gets into a trap.
I’m sure every chess player wants it. But do you know how to set traps successfully? What to keep in mind and how to increase the chance that an opponent will fall into the trap?
And the same time how to avoid traps yourself? What steps to follow to be able to recognize them until it’s too late to do anything?
This is what my students always ask and this what I’m going to explain in this video “How to Successfully set traps and decoys (and avoiding them yourself)”. Watch this video to the very end and you will learn how to increase the quality of your traps and how to not get trapped.
How to set traps successfully?
Good question. But before I show you an example and explain, I want you to remember that by setting a trap you automatically assume that your opponent won’t get trapped.
It means that you should create such a trap that you position should be still good even if your opponent doesn’t get trapped. If he is trapped, you can gain something or even get a winning position, but if he doesn’t, your position still should be fine. In other words, the moves that you played to be able to create a trap shouldn’t drift into a bad position for you!
How to avoid traps!
The first and the main principle that you should follow to avoid traps is always try to understand the logic behind opponent’s moves. Every time he plays a move you should ask yourself: What does he want to do with this move? What is his plan? If you can’t answer immediately, spend more time on it. And imagine that it’s you playing with the enemy pieces. And now ask yourself: Why would I play this move? What for?
If you want to share your experience when you trapped your opponent or fell into a nice trap, please, leave a comment and share these games into the comment section below the video. You can also leave the link to your game there.
Best Regards,
FM Viktor Neustroev
