The Siberian Trap is a

chess opening The opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established Chess_theory#Opening_theory, theory. The other phases are the chess middlegame, middlegame and the chess endgame, endgame. Many opening sequences, known as ''op ...

trap. After a series of natural moves in the

Smith–Morra Gambit In chess, the Smith–Morra Gambit (or simply Morra Gambit) is an Chess opening, opening gambit against the Sicilian Defence distinguished by the moves: :1. b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4, e4 b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...c5, c5 :2. b:Chess Open ...

of the

Sicilian Defence The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the following moves: :1. e4 c5 The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4. The opening 1.d4 is a statistically more successful opening for Whi ...

, White can lose a

queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

. The name appears to result from Boris Schipkov of

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siber ...

in southwestern

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. The trap has occurred at least twice in tournament play: Kolenbet–Schipkov,

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( ) is the largest city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China–Russia border, at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri Rivers, about north of Vladivostok. As of the 2021 Russian c ...

1987, and Tesinsky–Magerramov,

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

1990. It occurred a third time in Rohit–Szabo,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

2001Rohit–Szabo, Spain 2001
ChessGames.com. Retrieved on 2 April 2020.

Analysis

1. e4 c5 :The Sicilian Defence. 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 :White's 3.c3 introduces the Smith–Morra Gambit. Black accepts the

gambit A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage. The word '' gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe si ...

pawn Pawn most often refers to: * Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous chess piece in the game * Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral Pawn or The Pawn may also refer to: Places * Pa ...

. 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bc4 Qc7 7. 0-0 Nf6 8. Qe2 :White prepares e4–e5. This move is playable ''if'' White is careful on the next move. After 8.Re1 Bc5 Black has a good game as White's f2-square is sensitive. White also doesn't achieve much after 8.h3 a6. Instead, NCO suggests 8.Nb5 Qb8 9.e5 Nxe5 10.Nxe5 Qxe5 11.Re1 and White has some compensation for the sacrificed pawns. 8... Ng4! 9. h3?? (see diagram) :This is a decisive mistake. The same fate befell White after 9.Bb3?? in Kramadzhian–Schipkov, Novosibirsk 1988. Another try that doesn't work is 9.Rd1 Bc5. MCO-14 recommends 9.Nb5! Qb8 (threatening 10...a6 11.Nc3 Nd4!) 10.h3 h5 11.g3 Nge5 12.Nxe5 Nxe5 13.Bf4 a6 with a sharp position with roughly equal chances. 9... Nd4! :The Black threat of 10...Nxf3+ followed by 11...Qh2# wins material. If 10.Nxd4 then 10...Qh2#.

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sicilian Defence, Smith-Morra Gambit, Siberian Trap Chess traps 1987 in chess