Trap · played as Black

Caro-Kann Fantasy: the ...Qb6 Battery

Against the Fantasy (3.f3), 3...Qb6 hits b2 and d4 together. After 4.Nd2 e5, the natural grab 5.dxe5?? runs into 5...Bc5, d4 has vanished, f2 is pinned, and the g1 knight is stuck. Note it needs 4.Nd2: against 4.Nc3 the same plan does not work.

A position this opening is aiming for.

You play
Black
Variations covered
14
What it wins
Wins a piece

The main line

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.f3 Qb6 4.Nd2 e5 5.dxe5 Bc5 6.Qe2 Bxg1 7.Nb3 Ne7 8.a4 a5

How the trap springs

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.f3 Qb6 4.Nd2 e5 5.dxe5 Bc5 6.Qe2 Bxg1 7.Nb3 Ne7 8.a4 a5

Traps are only worth knowing if somebody actually falls into them, so each one here was checked against what club players really play, not only against what an engine would.

Some of the variations

…and 8 more in the trainer.

Train it

ChessReflex drills the branch points where a line splits rather than making you replay it move by move, so a repertoire this size is a handful of decisions instead of hundreds of moves. Free, and no account needed to start.

Open Caro-Kann Fantasy: the ...Qb6 Battery