Chess Openings Lab
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Magnus Smith Trap

White pushes 8.e5, attacking the f6 knight and offering a pawn. When Black takes with 8...dxe5, the queens face each other, and 9.Bxf7+ drags the king away so 10.Qxd8 wins the queen.

Opening
Sicilian Defense: Open
Moves
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bc4 g6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.e5 dxe5 9.Bxf7+ Kxf7 10.Qxd8
Set by
White
The mistake
8...dxe5
Checked
every move legal; result confirmed by Stockfish 17.1

How the trap works

The Magnus Smith Trap comes from an Open Sicilian: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bc4 g6. White trades with 7.Nxc6 bxc6 and then plays 8.e5, attacking the knight on f6.

The push is the trap. On d1 and d8, the two queens stand on the same file, and only the pawn on d6 separates them.

  • 8...dxe5? is the mistake. It wins a pawn but removes the d6 shield.
  • 9.Bxf7+! is a deflection. The king on e8 is the only defender of the queen on d8, and the check pulls it away.
  • 9...Kxf7 takes the bishop. Nothing else defends d8.
  • 10.Qxd8 wins the queen for a bishop.

The check is what makes it work. If White took the queen at once, Black would take back. The check on f7 drags the king away so the queen on d8 has no defender left. The rook on a8 is still blocked by the c8 bishop, so it cannot help.

The exact moment it goes wrong is 8...dxe5. Before it, the evaluation is close to level. After it, White is winning. Black should move the attacked knight with ...Nd7 or ...Ng4 and leave the d6 pawn where it is.

The wider lesson is to watch open files between the queens. When a pawn capture opens a line, ask what the opponent can do with check before recapturing.

How Black avoids it

Black should move the attacked knight with ...Nd7 or ...Ng4. Either keeps the d6 pawn in place as a shield on the d-file and the game stays close to level.

Questions

How does the Magnus Smith Trap work?

The d6 pawn was the only thing between the queens on d1 and d8. After 8...dxe5, White first checks with 9.Bxf7+, and once the king takes on f7, 10.Qxd8 takes the unprotected queen.

What is the losing move in the Magnus Smith Trap?

Black's mistake is 8...dxe5. Black should move the attacked knight with ...Nd7 or ...Ng4. Either keeps the d6 pawn in place as a shield on the d-file and the game stays close to level.

Is the Magnus Smith Trap worth playing for?

Yes for White. The evaluation stays close to level after 8.e5 too, so the push is a normal move that only wins if Black takes.

Where it comes from

More opening traps