Chess Traps: Siberian Trap

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I was quite fascinated when I remembered the Siberian trap yesterday when I was writing an article about tactics because the Siberian trap is filled with exciting tactics that might confuse and make your opponent lose his footing if he is not careful which would give you the upper hand. Of course, somebody who is aware of this trap would easily parry it.

The Siberian Trap is often seen in the lines of the Smith-Morra Gambit, in the Sicilian Defense. It involves a few tactics such as a fork which is really a deflection so that the defender of the king would leave its post and open the way for a checkmate. Without further ado, let's look at it again and see how we can avoid it and how to take advantage of it.



Everything seems natural but from closer inspection of the line, we see that it is White that commits the mistake. Technically, the knight move, Ng4, was not threatening anything at all. White could have made other moves at this point such as Bd2, Be3, or Bg5. Other moves like Bxc6 might also be considered but h3 is setting White up for trouble. Why? Because of the following trap:



The Siberian trap uses the tactic of deflection, which is leading a certain piece away from the protection of a particular square, in this case, it is the knight protecting h2. Black does this by forking the knight and queen with Nd4. From here on out, White's fate is sealed. White would be at a disadvantage no matter he move he makes. For example, the move that falls to the trap is Nxd4 after which, Black mates with Qh2#. If White moves his queen away, this would still have the same effect as Black would utilize another chess tactic called removing the defender by taking White's knight, Nxf3 and afterward, Qh2#.

The best way to parry this attack is not to play h3 instead either to play Be3 or Bxc6, either way, White is making a concession, that is, giving up the bishop pair. In any case, Black has succeeded in gaining a slight advantage over White. Another move that White could have avoided was Qe2 because it allows Nd4. Instead Bg5 or Be3 might have been fine or preempting Ng4, White could have played h3 beforehand.

On the other hand, be careful of a possible sideline which makes use of another trap which will be discussed in another article: