The Fishing Pole Trap: Learning the Sicilian Tactics

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The fishing pole trap is a very tricky one indeed. It can be executed in the Sicilian Defense or from the Ruy Lopez. So, there are three things needed for the fishing pole to work: a bait, a hook, and a sinker. The bait is usually a knight that invades enemy territory luring one of the king's defenses forward. The hook is a pawn that would open up the way for one of your pieces, the rook, to enter the fray. And the sinker is the queen which will deliver the fatal blow. We will look at the fishing pole trap first from a variation of the Sicilian Defense and then one from the Ruy Lopez.

As you can see the perfectly executed fishing pole trap here shows that one should not mindlessly try to threaten pieces and take them without thinking about the consequences. The trap is so subtle that it only takes a couple of moves for the opponent to be in deep trouble. When your opponent is willingly offering up a piece, you have to think whether it is a bluff or if there might be a trap waiting for you once you capture the piece. In the next demonstration, we will see how the fishing pole trap can also be done through the Ruy Lopez.

These are some pretty nice traps, aren't they? The fishing pole trap is a very sneaky attack but not one without defense. It is called a trap because it won't do you much harm if you don't fall for it. Again, this requires presence of mind and tact. Try to figure out the intentions behind your opponent's moves and then you will see behind the illusion. If it's a real attack, then you have to check what kind of advantage it will give your opponent. In this case, it gives them space and open lines. In other cases, it might be a material advantage or tempo. These are slight advantages but even the smallest gain can amount to big wins in the end. So be careful and properly observe what's going on the board.