Opening traps

The first game I ever played in a chess club went like this (I was Black)

  [Event "Chess Club"]  [Site "Hereward School, March"]  [Date "1972.??.??"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Stacey, Ian"]  [Black "Regis, David"]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "C20"]  [PlyCount "7"]  1. e4 e5 2. Qh5 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 $4  (3...g6) (3...Qf6)  4. Qxf7# 1-0  

Oh dear!

OK, I haven’t been caught like that since. What should Black do about this?

Well, we’re OK up to move 3. The “??” means it’s a blunder — I just didn’t see White’s threat, and was keen to shoo away the Queen.

(That’s a common chess mistake — being more interested in what you can do that what might happen to you!)

Much better are the moves: (3…g6) (3…Qf6) shown in the variations.

Another trap to avoid:

  [Event "Opening Traps"]  [Site "Qh5 attack"]  [Date "1972.??.??"]  [Round "?"]  [White "White"]  [Black "Black"]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "C20"]  [PlyCount "7"]  1. e4 e5 2. Qh5 g6? 3. Qxe5+ Qe7 4.Qxh8 1-0