34 Best Chess Traps in the Sicilian Defense (by variation and difficulty)

Deadly Chess Traps in the Sicilian Defense ranging from beginner to Grandmaster level.
The Sicilian Defense is an attacking opening. It's reputation is justly earned. It can often lead to 10-20 move wins if either side is not careful and don't know what they're doing. There are numerous traps and tricks in the Sicilian which are not beginner level, and which even very strong master and grandmaster level players would and have missed in tournament games.
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Get the PGN for all the traps here: / hangingpawns
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I have tried to compile a list of such, hard to see, subtle, but deadly traps. I hope it helps!
I have also included many beginner level blunders which could earn you some quick Sicilian wins.
00:00 Intro
00:34 Traps for White, 1: The Sveshnikov Catastrophe
03:26 2: Sveshnikov h6 trap
08:44 3: Sveshnikov Nd5 Ne7 trap
11:08 4: Alapin mate in 6
12:46 5: Alapin - Thanks for the knight
13:46 6: Delayed Alapin Knight trap
14:25 7: Alapin Queen sac
16:45 8: Smith Morra Caro-Kann mate
18:17 9: Smith-Morra Queen trap
20:13 10: Smith-Morra 3
22:56 11: Dragon Knight
24:54 12: Sozin Dragon mistake
29:06 13: Accelerated Dragon, Fischer-Reshevsky 1958
32:29 14: Levenfish Dragon
35:14 15: Awkward rooks in the Dragon
38:39 16: Kan g6 mistake
42:21 17: The Kan Bishop absurdity
43:50 18: Closed Sicilian, the d5 blunder
46:40 19: Giving away d5 in the Rauzer
49:23 20: Rossolimo Queen Trap
53:07 21: Bg5 Najdorf trap
55:42 22: Bg5 Najdorf sacrifice on e6
59:33 23: The Chekover Rook
01:00:55 24: The Chekover Checkmate
01:02:52 25: Nimzowitsch Variation
01:05:31 Traps for Black, Trap 26: The Wing Gambit Catastrophe
01:06:31 27: Staunton Cochrane Checkmate
01:07:54 28: The Chameleon Checkmate
01:09:22 29: Oh, Kelly!
01:11:27 30: The Rossolimo Bishop
01:12:56 31: Alapin c4 trap
01:15:22 32: The Grand Prix Bishop
01:16:57 33: The Accelerated Dragon, f3 mistake
1:20:10 34: Kan trouble on c3
#chess

[@HangingPawns]

Get the PGN for all the traps here: www.patreon.com/hangingpawns Visit Chessbook to make studying your repertoire much easier: chessbook.com/hanging-pawns Thank you for the support!: www.paypal.me/HangingPawns Comment below if you know a Sicilian trap I didn't cover. I'm working on part 2. Cheers!

[@JannesDragon]

Nice to see more about the Morra

[@HangingPawns]

If you play the morra and know a trap I'd missed, please let me know. I'm gathering more for part 2.

[@10Megar10]

​@@HangingPawns1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. Bc4 Nf6 7. e5 dxe5 8. Qxd8+ Nxd8 9. Nb5 Kd7 10. Nxe5+ Ke8 11. Nc7# Of course you know this one. I still think this is something nice to show, looking at the playrate and winrate of white on lichess.

[@netoz2422]

Nice editing👍

[@HangingPawns]

Thanks:D That actually means a lot. This is the first time I edited anything in my videos!

[@auguststar]

The Ramones! Cool poster

[@HangingPawns]

The best band in the worldddd

[@djelilikejam]

i really like this format of video !

[@mario97br]

Didn’t see you for a while and have to say - you look better and are more enjoyable to watch. Keep going, loved this video :D

[@niravapurv4578]

What a great video, so many traps collected in one video. Its nice to learn main lines and so, but its hard to memorise and they dont happen so often on lover than 1800 levels. The traps are actually somewhat easier to remember, because they are pattern based, and then can also happen in similar ways in other positions. And this video also helps to remember all the openings and their early moves. And all with chapter. This is for shure gone be a favorite video for a while. Great stuff 😊

[@mario97br]

Another problem with learning main lines is often, that they don’t give a full explanation, why the line is a certain way - especially in order to avoid some traps, which is especially confusing in the sici compared to the Caro e.g. So yes, really nice video. :D

[@fergs1561]

37:51 the idea of forking the rooks like that is explored in similar positions in Fischer - Tal Bled-Zagreb-Belgrade 1959 where tal played g6 against Fischer’s Bc4 in the Najdorf. That game would make a good fit for this series imo

[@HangingPawns]

Hmm. I will add it to part 2. Gonna check it out. Thanks.

[@dvdb3206]

White tries to play the English attack against the Kan Sicilian: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. f3 Bb4 8. Qd2 d5 Here, e5 followed by d4 is a big threat (for example after the popular move 9. Bd3). In the other lines, black also emerges with an advantage. I first learned about it in the Kan study by NM Mr_Penings on Lichess and - as the author promised - it's incredibly common in my games.

[@ethymo]

This is simply an awesome video

[@HangingPawns]

Glad you think so! Let me know if you know of any traps I'd missed.

[@brandonwilkinson6751]

Nice job

[@GeneralBlorp]

Hell yeah chapters brah 👍

[@fergs1561]

I’d love to see you analyze some Fischer games. I took inspiration from your livestreams and have begun playing solitaire chess with and later analyzing every Fischer game I can find

[@HangingPawns]

I've done a few. Been considering a series on his 60 memorable games.

[@fergs1561]

@@HangingPawns that’d be great, I’d watch the shit outta that

[@adnanghaleb2196]

Thanks

[@HangingPawns]

Welcome!

[@andersballe1064]

Very nice video! Here is a little refutation to 6. e5 in the Rauzer with an epic queen sac! 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e5 7. Bxf6 gxf6 8. Nf5 Bxf5 9. exf5 Nd4 10. Qxd4 exd4 11. Bb5+ Qd7 12. Bxd7+ Kxd7 13. Ne2

[@jackal8805]

Graphic design always top notch 👌🏻

[@HangingPawns]

Thanks!

[@WiiNunchuck]

I’ve had that Kan trap that you showed last many times online. Honestly be3 could be the most common move i’ve played against there at low elo.

[@pastorofmuppets4552]

That first Sveshnikov trap is nasty.

[@desper7715]

Great job! can you show traps in the dragon variation as black, that would be nice

[@a_masquerade4485]

Trap for lower levels in the Sveshnikov: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 Rb8 and there’s no real way to defend the pawn. If you try, you get destroyed by Qa5. If Qc1, you have Ba3 etc.

[@Zyrexia]

well edited video this is...

[@pablourosa1443]

In the Alapin, you have the same pattern as in #7 in the Barmen exchange: 1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 cxd4 5. cxd4 Nc6 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. Nc3 Qd8? 8. d5 Ne5?? 9. Nxe5! Bxd1?? 10. Bb5+ Qd7 11. Bxd7+ Kd8 12. Kxd1

[@Pieceanda]

There is a line and kind of a trap for black to use I would like to mention: 1) e4 - c5, 2) Nf3 - e6, 3) d4 - cxd4, 4) Nxd4 - Nf6, 5) Nc3 - Nc6, 6) Bg5 - Bb4, 7) Nxc6 - bxc6 8) e5 - Qa5 and white's position is literally terrible after exf6 and Qxg5 or any other moves, as an 1700-1800 otb player, I won at least 2 matches after this position of 8) ... Qa5 against similar rating players in otb classical tournaments. White's Bg5 feels too natural becausr Naidorf habits but it is pretty bad

[@KeepChessSimple]

We need more Catalan training games!

[@HangingPawns]

I have a tournament starting in 2 days. I will play more games after it finishes. But you may see some catalan tournament games. Maaaybe:D

[@ignaciocompany7364]

Hello Stjepan! I was just wondering if you could tell me what's the name of the chess poster you have on your wall

[@HangingPawns]

It was made for the 1930 Chess congress held in Kaiserslautern where Alekhine was invited to play.

[@stoutlager6325]

I play the nimzowitsch and have encountered that trap only once. I have the game up here. It seems I played Bxb5. It's a good trap as white isn't worse if it doesn't work out. There are other tempting unsound traps in the nimzowitsch I see much more often. Those I know all the refutations for as white is losing/lost if they try them.

[@HangingPawns]

Can you write down the pgn for the traps please? Or share them some other way.

[@Alex-xk6md]

Nice dawg thank u very much sir

[@HangingPawns]

Welcome

[@TheChessChamber]

Thanks so much. hoping to get to 2500 elo this year. at 2100 currently

[@jadexsolaris6916]

please do traps in the catalan for white! please i need it really badly.

[@HangingPawns]

being prepared:) Will be out in early March.

[@HemraArazy-rr4tm]

💚💚💚💚

[@Radrook353]

Chess should pay more than bowling does since it requires far more study and skill. Yet I am sure that professional bowlers earn far more than professional chess players usually do..

[@erraticarchitect]

Hello gold mine, goodbye 1500s

[@TheChingChongSlayer]

Can you focus more on the traps in the black side?