Trap · played as White
King's Gambit: the Cunningham Bishop
4...Bh4+ looks like a free hit, it drives your king to f1. But the bishop now stands on h4 attacked by the knight on f3, and 5...Nf6?? loses it to 6.Nxh4. The most-played mistake anyone makes against this opening.
A position this opening is aiming for.
- You play
- White
- Variations covered
- 9
- What it wins
- Wins material
The main line
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 Be7 4.Bc4 Bh4+ 5.Kf1 Nf6 6.Nxh4 O-O 7.Nf3 Nxe4 8.d3 Nf6
How the trap springs
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 Be7 4.Bc4 Bh4+ 5.Kf1 Nf6 6.Nxh4 O-O 7.Nf3 Nxe4 8.d3 Nf6 9.Bxf4
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
- 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 Be7 4.Bc4 Bh4+ 5.Kf1 Nf6 6.Nxh4 O-O 7.Nf3 Nxe4
- 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 Be7 4.Bc4 Bh4+ 5.Kf1 Be7 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Qe2 O-O
- 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 Be7 4.Bc4 Bh4+ 5.Kf1 Be7 6.Nc3 c6 7.d4 d5
- 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 Be7 4.Bc4 Bh4+ 5.Kf1 c6 6.d4 d5 7.exd5 cxd5
- 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 Be7 4.Bc4 Bh4+ 5.Kf1 c6 6.d4 Be7 7.Nc3 d5
- 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 Be7 4.Bc4 Bh4+ 5.Kf1 d6 6.d4 Qf6 7.Qd2 Ne7
…and 3 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 King's Gambit: the Cunningham Bishop →