The Trojan Horse Trick In Chess

Everyone knows the story about the Trojan Horse that helped the Greek army win the Trojan War. Since chess is a model of a war on 64 squares, can't we use this 3,000-year-old trick on the chessboard?

Just think of it: Your opponent hides his king behind the rock-solid walls of his castle, when a beautiful steed appears right in front of the gates. Can he possibly resist the temptation to open the door?

A Trojan Horse in Turkey. 

Let's see how this concept works in the so-called "Fishing Pole Trap," which is quite popular in amateur tournaments.

Don't get caught in this trap. 

Yes, instead of playing 4...Nxe4, which leads to a very popular and simultaneously hated Berlin variation, Black moves his knight towards White's castle. White naturally kicks the knight by playing 5.h3, but the knight is not moving. Instead Black sets a trap by playing 5...h5!

Now if White accepts the gift, he will share the fate of the city of Troy!

While this is a very primitive trap, it still helped Black to neutralize a 500-rating-point deficit in the following game:

One of the most vicious opening traps starts with the same knight jump. Can you find the winning move in the following position?

We already analyzed the Siberian Trap and similar tricks in this article five years ago.

The chess Trojan Horse is so tricky that it sometimes confuses even pretty decent chess players. I couldn't believe my eyes when my opponent (USCF 2050) blundered a checkmate as early as move 12! 

It was a tournament game with a regular time control. Now imagine how difficult it is to defend against the chess Trojan Horse in rapid or blitz! Even the last world championship challenger was helpless against this beast. Do not miss the final cute combination that decided the game.

Surprise your opponent with the chess Trojan Horse trick and share your beautiful wins in the comments!