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Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nc6/3. Bb5/3...Nf6/4. d3/4...Ne7/5. Nxe5/5...c6

Mortimer trap
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Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)
Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Ne7 5. Nxe5 c6
ECO code: C65
Parent: Spanish gameAnti-BerlinMortimer variation

5...c6 · Mortimer trap

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Black kicks White's bishop, gaining tempo while opening a line for their queen reach a5.

White has fallen into the Mortimer trap. After 6. Bc4? or 6. Ba4?, 6...Qa5+! 7. Nc3 and Black picks up the knight.

White has some tricky moves of their own, but if Black avoids their traps then they are strictly ahead here.

  • 6. Nc4?!, leaving the bishop to hang, sets Black up for the blunder 6...cxb5?? 7. Nd6#, and Black's king is smothered. Giving the king some space with 6...d6 (Black still wins a minor piece after 7. Ba4 b5!) or 6...d5 is better.
  • The best move for White is 6. Nxf7. White at least gets another pawn for their knight. The knight attacks Black's queen, but 6...Qa5+? 7. Bd2 Qxb5?? 8. Nd6+ forks the king and queen. 6...Kxf7 7. Bc4+ d5 8. Bb3. is best. Black is ahead material but loses castling rights.

Theory table

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For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Ne7 5. Nxe5 c6

6 7 8 9
Mortimer trap Ba4?
Qa5+
Nc3
Qxe5
Nc4
cxb5
Nd6# 1-0
...
d6
Ba4
b5
Nxd6+
Qxd6
Bb3
Nxf7
Qa5+?
Bd2
Qxb5??
Nd6+
Kd8
Nxb5 +-
...
Kxf7
Bc4+
d5
Bb3

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References

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See also

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  • Nunn's Chess Openings. 1999. John Nunn (Editor), Graham Burgess, John Emms, Joe Gallagher. ISBN 1-8574-4221-0.


v · t · e
Chess Opening Theory
1. e4 e5
Open game
2. Nf3
With 2...Nc6:
  • Four knights ( )
  • Italian game ( )
  • Spanish game ( )

With other 2nd moves:

2. Other
1. e4 c5
Sicilian defence
1. e4 ...other: