Ponziani is really trappy for white and solid. Most players between 1200-1500 probably don't know much theory behind it either.
For Black I can't really suggest much. Ofc there is the Rousseau and Stafford Gambit but they aren't sound. To be fair - it really depends on what White plays but everything will be either a Gambit that's unsound or a highly theoretical opening (like the Sicilian). Hope this helps.
Wrong approach.
Openings should not be based on traps. You need to figure out openings that lead to positions you understand. What types of middle game positions do you prefer? In most cases you will have a problem piece, especially as Black. Do you prefer a problem knight with nowhere to go? Ruy Lopez, Benoni, etc? Or do you deal with a bad bishop better? French, King's Indian, Dutch, etc? Do you prefer a weakness out in the open for dynamic play? d6-pawn in the Najdorf? Or do you prefer a solid center with weaknesses being on the wing? Black's dark squares on the kingside in the French?
Do your openings mesh?
For example, a French player, who doesn't mind a bad bishop and probably prefers structures with long pawn chains, should play something like the Stonewall Dutch or King's Indian. A Sicilian Najdorf player is more likely to go for a Grunfeld or Nimzo-Indian, etc.
The openings you play should not be arbitrarily. Like in my case, I play the French and Dutch (have also played the King's Indian for a long time) as Black, and 1.b4 as White, which often lead to French-type positions reversed. Like in the 2...f6 line, 1.b4 e5 2.Bb2 f6 3.b5 d5 4.e3 Be6 5.d4 e4 and you have a reversed French with an accelerated queenside attack for White. The move c4 is coming, whether immediately, or after castling kingside. The exchange Variation can often act like an open Tarrasch reversed. Not exact, but similar.
Play an opening because it leads to the type of middle game positions you actually understand. Not because it's full of traps!
SMH!
The scotch is an opening that can stump most players under 1300.
Here's a few traps from the Scotch Game:
Wrong approach.
Openings should not be based on traps. You need to figure out openings that lead to positions you understand. What types of middle game positions do you prefer? In most cases you will have a problem piece, especially as Black. Do you prefer a problem knight with nowhere to go? Ruy Lopez, Benoni, etc? Or do you deal with a bad bishop better? French, King's Indian, Dutch, etc? Do you prefer a weakness out in the open for dynamic play? d6-pawn in the Najdorf? Or do you prefer a solid center with weaknesses being on the wing? Black's dark squares on the kingside in the French?
Do your openings mesh?
For example, a French player, who doesn't mind a bad bishop and probably prefers structures with long pawn chains, should play something like the Stonewall Dutch or King's Indian. A Sicilian Najdorf player is more likely to go for a Grunfeld or Nimzo-Indian, etc.
The openings you play should not be arbitrarily. Like in my case, I play the French and Dutch (have also played the King's Indian for a long time) as Black, and 1.b4 as White, which often lead to French-type positions reversed. Like in the 2...f6 line, 1.b4 e5 2.Bb2 f6 3.b5 d5 4.e3 Be6 5.d4 e4 and you have a reversed French with an accelerated queenside attack for White. The move c4 is coming, whether immediately, or after castling kingside. The exchange Variation can often act like an open Tarrasch reversed. Not exact, but similar.
Play an opening because it leads to the type of middle game positions you actually understand. Not because it's full of traps!
SMH!
Well you are right I guess i prefer playing open positons and i really dont mind a bad bishop....
Fingerslip Winawer Kunin Double Gambit and Alekhine-Chatard Albin-Chatard Gambit, Delayed Alapin Basman Palatnik Double Gambit, Evans Gambit or Goring Double Gambit, Mieses Kotrc Leonhardt Gambit, and this unnamed line against the Caro-Kann (shown above). Trappiest repertoire there is out there most likely, you’ll always be down material, solid objectively, but with the chance to just win games sometimes. The good thing about these gambits as compared to others is that they all retain viability if refuted, you’ll still have a game of chess to play unlike things like the King’s Gambit.
I'm a fan of king's gambit. it's a really good line to start with and grow because there's so much venom in BASIC 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exd4 3.Nf3 (whatever) 4.Bc4... getting ready to aim EVERYTHING at f7. I play the older "muzio gambit" style as I'm way more of an early Nf3 than Nc3 kind of player. the 3.Nc3 quaade gambit has even better results and can transpose a lot as the "best" current book seems to be based on the "quaade complex", so if you learn THAT from the start you'll have a stronger base for your theory.
as to traps? i used to do poorly with "automatic" 6.Be2, but once I researched stats and stumbled on 6.Kf2!? i love playing what I call the "modern queen spanker" which scores 61:32 in 183k games after 7.Bb5 with or without check followed by 8.0-0! x-raying the queen
and even MORE brutal...
and white scores 88% whether black plays g6 OR Ke7! White just throws EVERYTHING at black's king and even plays h4!? without castling in some lines to get the rook involved too. this is the most VICIOUS trap line I know! it's a bit rare, but super easy to learn. I shared a tree for it and the queen spanker here somewhere.
even MORE than king's gambit though, I'm loving the crap out of the mieses gambit in the carokann because I can uses a lot of the same tactics as I do in king's gambit with a quick Nf3, Bc4 and castling into an open f file for my rook.
here's a game showing my favorite "king's gambit tactic"... the pin breaking Bxf7!? attack
if this looks exciting to you, you too might like a kings gambit, mieses caro, BDG scandinavian, alapin diemer french repertoire and smith morra is as tactical as sicilians get
Wrong approach. You should never aim for traps. They’re basically just gambling. If they don’t see it, you’re gonna get a terrible position and probably lose. Only aim for sound openings, not trappy openings.
In that context, I recommend the Scotch as white and the French as black.
Wrong approach. You should never aim for traps. They’re basically just gambling. If they don’t see it, you’re gonna get a terrible position and probably lose. Only aim for sound openings, not trappy openings.
In that context, I recommend the Scotch as white and the French as black.
If they see it*
milhner berry gambit
very vemomous and dangerous for black, semi sound
often times in the russian and brickman variations of the grünfeld black sacrifices a pawn or 2 for huge initative, very sound
also this line in the catalan is very dangerous for white
black gets rid of the catalan bishop, gets an initiative and a development advantage but is down a pawn +0.7
Jalalabad Sicilian for black
Can't really go wrong with something like the Goring Gambit:
You'll need to do a bit of research and there are a two different ways to play it (taking back on c3 with the knight or playing Bc4 and gambiting the b2 pawn as well, similar to the Danish gambit). Both variations are aggressive, funny, fairly trappy and relatively equal anyway according to Stockfish so they are by no means unsound.
Fun, not funny*
Hello, I want to learn a new opening as white probably for black too.
Can you suggest me a sound opening that meets these requirments....
1- Ofc should be sound
2-Should start with e4
3- have some traps in it
4- works for 1200-1500 or little bit higher range
Thanks in advance, good day