Following up on yesterday's Ravan post: today's head is "Chhal" (deceit), a bot that only plays opening traps. While building it I collected the traps that catch club players most. Here they are with the escape for each:

1. Scholar's Mate

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Qh5 Nf6?? 4.Qxf7#

✅ Escape: 3...g6 or 3...Qe7 defends. Never leave f7 guarded only by the king when a queen and bishop are both aiming at it.

2. Legal's Mate

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Bg4 4.Nc3 g6? 5.Nxe5! Bxd1?? 6.Bxf7+ Ke7 7.Nd5#

✅ Escape: don't take the queen. 5...dxe5 loses a pawn but survives. When your opponent "blunders" their queen, ask why.

3. Fried Liver

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5?! 6.Nxf7! Kxf7 7.Qf3+, and Black's king is dragged into the open

✅ Escape: 5...Na5 is the main line and avoids it.

4. Blackburne Shilling Gambit

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4!? 4.Nxe5? Qg5 5.Nxf7?? Qxg2 6.Rf1 Qxe4+ 7.Be2 Nf3#

✅ Escape: 4.Nxd4 or simply 4.O-O. Greedy 4.Nxe5 is exactly what Black wants.

5. Englund Gambit trap

1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 4.Bf4? Qb4+ 5.Bd2 Qxb2 6.Bc3?? Bb4! 7.Qd2 Bxc3 8.Qxc3 Qc1#

✅ Escape: 6.Nc3 holds. Under pressure, develop pieces rather than chasing the queen.

The common thread: f7/f2 is the weakest square early on, and a "free" piece in the opening is usually bait.

Which trap got you when you started? Mine was the Fried Liver, in a school tournament 😅

(P.S. the trap bot is Head 5 of the Navratri challenge from yesterday. Link in the comments if anyone wants to try it.)

What a wonderful sacrifice