Chess Openings: Traxler Counter Attack

The Traxler Counter Attack is a very aggressive defense from black stemming from the two knights defense. Instead of defending the f7 square, black offers to counter attack the weakened square on f2 for white.
Make sure to check out more great chess content at: www.thechesswebsite.com
This opening usually ends in wild tactics and rarely ends in a tie.
Software can be found at www.chesscentral.com

[@miked2543]

2:50- king takes bishop 9:30- king f1 15:10- king e2

[@Chuck_N0rris]

Opponent resigned before the game even started when I mentioned the traxler counter attack.

[@clivevale]

he was a 5 year old!!!

[@V8SupersQirreL]

He resigned because he faced Chuck Norris!

[@ploopybear]

@@V8SupersQirreL probably

[@bradspaugh9827]

It was his best move

[@SDdroneflights]

@@bradspaugh9827 A great one

[@chesswebsite]

@MasterThief1324 oops, meant F2, I made a note in the video. thanks for pointing this out.

[@tomasfontes3616]

About 13:30 'Queen to f1 is checkmate': it is not because white has a bishop defending that square. Checkmate would be queen to f2.

[@renaissanceman165]

Was tjonking the same thing. Perhaps he meant to say that, or hypothetically if the c4 Bishop were to move, then yes it would be checkmate, but I think he meant Qe2, because never moved to f1 duding that exchange. Chek it Out! Ciao!!!

[@franciscosantiago1674]

13:01 Ne1 Mate

[@yungfuofficial3614]

@@franciscosantiago1674 its not a mate Bishop can take the knight

[@melons6709]

4:00 i think queen f2 from black is also mate edit: if white doesn't do anything about it

[@DDKKAY]

@@melons6709 they're talking about 13:27

[@algol291]

that final example was insane! How can you think that far ahead, sacking your queen?

[@shashu990]

Not only sacking your own queen but also letting the opponents queen live in confidence i mean 💥💥💥💯

[@acamoravac]

He went all out

[@Bokkex]

My favourite counter attack.Everytime i see the fried liver coming up I leap for joy

[@hobodawg9364]

@john tan The Traxler does work better than just playing h6 to stop the knight from attacking.

[@-_Nuke_-]

@@hobodawg9364 Only if you know what you are doing, SF actualy likes white the entire time if you play correctly against the Traxler...

[@kennethmoore9588]

white wins in the traxlor every time and he did not cover that line. after white King f1 denying the bishop. 6. Qe7 7. Nxh8 Now black must move the bishop on f2 or lose it. Nxe5 does not work after white plays Qh5. either way it all winning for white. Traxlor counter does niot work against the fried liver.

[@kennethmoore9588]

great video though, im not hatin. their are many lines

[@gonzalo4658]

I love fried liver.

[@ChesscomGames]

what a crazy gambit. thanks for the video!

[@jihyo8481]

ur late 1 year dude

[@RudolfSchmidt]

I'm currently being Traxlered against a much stronger opponent. It's hilarious to see it happen in real time. I obviously knew he had a plan but at first I was like "wtf?" but then "oh nohoooooo". My entire right side is all fucked up. I figure I have 10 moves left. Still glad I learned something new.

[@beri4138]

You are watching tutorial videos while playing a live game? That's literally cheating...

[@LadyShaydex]

@@beri4138 so, its good practice too

[@rickross9829]

@@beri4138 What about if it's correspondence game and he's not doing it to get an edge, just continuing his learning?

[@keroroguns0867]

@@beri4138 it’s not cheating IFFFFF you already lost the game (like you aren’t trying to win anymore) and just trying to learn more about why you got clapped

[@prot07ype87]

@@keroroguns0867 Yeah, but he said "currently", so it was during the game.

[@chesswebsite]

@tagginos you can castle as long as the king and rook have not moved, and the king is not in check and does not move through an attacked square. It does not matter if the rook is attacked or moves through an attacked square.

[@willawanders]

How about "The Fried Lolli Traxler Counter Attack"?

[@nusratquamarchowdhury5738]

Wendy Solganik wtf

[@jacquesleeuwenhoek1835]

Wendy solganik The friedlever track

[@alejandrogarma7284]

Pl0

[@synthesiageek4667]

Too short, add Giouco Piano and two knights into it.

[@sploog]

_Everything changed with the Fire Nation Attack..._

[@Mixxathon]

Ahhh, the good old Traxler. I actually managed to replicate the original Traxler game, move by move, during a large blitz tournament. The final move, mate by pawnmove feels sooo good (like mate by castling or kingmove actually). Thanks for doing this video.

[@tamirerez2547]

When I teach Traxler attack I always teach it from the point of view of the black pieces player. So the students can understand it better. Please, change the direction of this video, up side down. The black should be at the front, means the low side of the board. Ty.

[@jacksonwolf4656]

The thing that makes these videos enjoyable, Kevin, is your personality. You had me laughing out loud in this video.

[@JonathanSalazar100]

Wow! Just saved my life with this play. I'm always lost when Nf2.

[@chesswebsite]

Boomtown. Glad I saved your life :)

[@MistakesNewbiesMake]

Picked out a random video by you this morning and boy did a great one come up! Make a million more videos please!! I love them all. Live games is what I want most.

[@andrew_owens7680]

How did I never see this brilliancy??? What a beautiful game! Bravo. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[@rahulsukumaran4815]

just amazing...

[@peterbago4574]

"He might just resign right there" - LOL, I would :)))

[@Soulend1]

Brilliant play, and equally brilliant explanation. Thanks for this video!

[@atm31ac21]

Man this is my go to. I love this opening so much

[@sploog]

13:29 It's Qf2, f1 is protected by white's light square bishop

[@siam580]

He has wrote it in his comment

[@prot07ype87]

@@siam580 I don't see it.

[@bazzieboy]

"Being down a crap ton" is the actual chess lingo

[@bartj777]

Thanks for making these, I watch every one!

[@gus.stviaaa]

Lol u had no likes for 9 hears

[@callmewisdom]

oh my, that Trexler game at the end was amazing, unbelivable how good some people are at chess

[@MrAndersson90]

Really nice opening, I have to try it out. That game in the end was amazing. What does black do if white plays 5. Bxf7+ instead of Nxf7? Black can't castle, white is up a pawn and black can't use the Traxler counterattack so for me it looks like white has an advantage

[@RexPetrov]

8:16 "This bissum sure is not going anywhere." It's like you were trying to say bishop but got lazy and gave up lol

[@SSteinnes91]

I played my first tournament this weekend, and was able to use this not only once, but twice. Both times, it resulted in a clear victory for me. Thank you very much for making this video, Kevin.

[@mayedalshamsi]

11 years later! Do you still play chess? :P

[@borisgarcia2852]

I really enjoyed the presentation!! very educational and very well presented!!

[@rolfstorz6827]

Amazing attack extremely clever of Traxler constantly looking for that better move which leads to mate!

[@thethugangel63]

damn i play Italian all the time

[@chesswebsite]

@sengaltapisempoi he definitely can castle. your rook can be attacked. It is your king that can't be attacked or move through an attacked square.

[@InnerLeader]

great video, very well explained, thanks

[@nickkarz4114]

At 13:20 why not be2 threading mate? If white takes with his bishop then black takes back with his knight and it's mate

[@miraikuriyama6418]

good eye

[@miraikuriyama6418]

@Soomanib Kamruzzaman kzbin.info/www/bejne/qpaXqomalpqgnqs black should not castle but Be2 threatening checkmate on f1 then after BxB the NxB checkmate

[@arneperschel]

@Soomanib Kamruzzaman Which is why I thought that at 12:58 the black queen should move to f4 in stead of f5.

[@LoneWolf-lk6gj]

@@miraikuriyama6418 exactly!

[@yavuzylmaz2628]

13:04 instead of castle, knight to e2 after white bishop capture e2, black bishop recapture and i cant see a way to prevent mate for black any comment?

[@ghostgurl17]

after your variation white simply plays h2 making room for king to escape. instead try Be2 and theres no way for white to defend the f1 square. if he takes the bishop, knight recaptures with mate

[@srikrishna8752]

@@ghostgurl17 then also same h3 way out

[@jangtheconqueror]

In every variation white always has h3 for a flight square.

[@batdorfvideo]

@tagginos Its a valid question! The rule is that when a king goes to castle, he cannot pass through check. Since the knight is not attacking either f8 or g8, the king is allowed to castle.

[@rujaline]

this is fantastic, thank you!

[@user-zb5ib5lu6b]

Nice classical chess at it s best. ;Only one thing. 12.50 of the video.. "..black plays Qf5", but a better move exists that leads to forced win, Qf4. White has only 2 moves, if Kg1 then Ne2, forced is Bxe2 and the white queen in a4 drops (that is why it is so important for black to play Qf4 to the start of this variation) and the other option white has (after ..Qf4) is Ke1 that leads to worst things after the simple.. 0-0-0.

[@merdantekayev812]

You are totally wrong lol

[@danonischuk3399]

@@merdantekayev812 No, you are wrong, he is correct & brilliant. PS - At 3:45 instead of BQh4 I would have BQf6.

[@heskan]

why is this so unpopular with the Fried Liver / Lolli Attack being played so often?

[@EddieDubs]

It's complicated and hard to learn.

[@callmewisdom]

oh my... that Trexler game at the was amazing

[@esond]

It's nice to see an opening that maybe isn't quite as popular. These not-so-common openings are my favorite to play online because many are unfamiliar with them.

[@jasontao1388]

5:35 "White knight over here on h1 is very passive?"

[@Onetouchlyricseditz]

If king take f2 black goes check and then king goes e3 what happened

[@filipratkovic5561]

Yeah, that's the best move, not g1

[@charles8353]

13:00 after king move to g1 its checkmate in two move. You move your bishop to d2 where your N protect it. If they takes it with their bishop you take back with your N. If they dont, you give them checkmate with your queen on f1.

[@forbiddensecrets1]

@Mondrae205 of course. thanks for pointing that out. can't believe i missed that. :)

[@sundarhlb]

13:27 Queen to f1 isn't checkmate

[@NAMMERZ444]

Maybe he meant f2

[@JS7LL]

what if white king goes to E3 attacking knight?

[@ojasrox]

Jamil Sailov I am thinking the same... @thechesswebsite

[@meh3446]

Qh4 then...

[@barsboz4051]

than it becomes this 7.Kf3 Qh4 8.Nxh8 d5 9.Be2 Bg4+ 10.Ke3 d4+ or 7.Kf3 d5 8.Ke3 dxc4 9.Kxe4 Kxf7 in all logical vaariants of it white is behind black

[@barsboz4051]

sorry the second variation ı have written isnt doable cause if bishop doesnt play e2 loses his queen and even if he plays it he will lose it later

[@hydoffdhagaweyne1037]

He'll get a hear attack

[@Jarretman]

That traxler video was amazing...

[@ranjandas4766]

at 13:02 , instead of castling we can play Knight to e2 with check . Opponent has to take with his bishop playing bishop to e2. We then recapture with our bishop playing bishop to e2. Now queen to F1 checkmate is a threat and we don't have to worry about a bishop keeping an eye on the F1 square. Also we don't loose a knight for free. Castling after wards and bringing in the rook can also work. Just a fun alternate line....truly a great video....keep it up

[@holy_shushcabin3716]

5:32 Of course his white night (mangina) is passive ;)

[@mychannel594]

mangina? wtf?

[@prot07ype87]

@@mychannel594 Because it's a white knight.

[@gurdipkaur47]

16:14 what if kc3

[@hailmary7283]

Then Ne4 #

[@hailmary7283]

Whoops not Checkmate. But after the king takes c4, Bishop a6, and white is done for.

[@jj-ll3pu]

crazy gambit! wish it could be used more often

[@mskcouric]

Awesome video.

[@dirkreed5392]

EVERY GAME FEATURING BLACK SHOULD SHOW THE BOARD FROM BLACK PLAYER'S PERSPECTIVE - SWITCH IT AROUND!!!

[@locutusdborg126]

First, no need for all caps. Second, who are you to give orders? If you understand the basics of the game of chess, you will be able to understand the concepts from either perspective. You don't like it, make your own video.

[@BenNCM]

I TOTALLY AGREE WITH DIRK. THIS IS NOTHING MORE THAN ANOTHER CASE OF WHITE PRIVILEGE. STOP RACISM IN CHESS.

[@oakleysierney1918]

First tell him not to use all caps then tell him that people shouldn't tell each other what to do. Yea, makes sense. No contradiction there. Secondly, your logic is fallacious. Knowing the basics of chess doesn't mean it won't be easier to follow with the right board orientation. It will be easier for someone to follow whether they are beginner or advanced with the right orientation. Lastly, although people seem to be forgetting it these days there is this thing called 'free speech'. The price for criticizing is not making a video. You get to criticize without doing that. If you don't like it then instead of being an internet asshole why don't go to Syria or some other dictatorship where free speech is not allowed.

[@TheIMN]

Locutus D'Borg is correct. He's reminding us that in "computerese" all caps is a form of screaming. I don't think Dirk was trying to scream, but coupled with the exclamation mark, the use of the word "should" as if this is a moral obligation, and the use of a command mode of language, the comment does seem a bit overbearing. I think D'Borg is justified in simply reminding us of internet etiquette.

[@locutusdborg126]

Thank you, The IMN Idea Lab. That is precisely what I meant.

[@ether4223]

Its like all we do is regurgitate old openings, chess players are more like libraries or computers now. Not even using our own intelligence to do something new. Intellectual chess *sigh*

[@AoSCow]

Basically all openings that can be played been played. However a lot of the middle and end game is still mostly out of book.

[@mychannel594]

+Ether You're nowhere near good enough at chess to be even remotely close to the play level where memorizing openings matters that much.

[@mehranmortezai]

That was amazing! Loved it :)

[@julienwhaley]

You rock Kevin.

[@lexlawless]

Why do you keep saying "getting the pieces involved into the game", it's "getting the pieces involved in the game"

[@quagapp]

I think it is a way of emphasizing that the involvement is active. It is a natural example of the way all languages contain degrees of redundancy which in fact serve a purpose. Otherwise we would be Grammar Robots!

[@locutusdborg126]

quagapp He is Canadian and that is one of their idioms. I'm into dialects (*_*)

[@oakleysierney1918]

You have no right to criticize someone for doing something that you are much worse at. You fault him for two redundant letters when your whole use of the phrase "in the game" was redundant. What else would the pieces be involved in, the war in Syria? Idiot.

[@malonchirara813]

Oh mY :) ...Stahp he's dead

[@bonniejunk]

the giorno's piano two knights sicilian dragon traxler counter attack variation is my personal favorite

[@bluetreedog1205]

Great video

[@grandpa203]

I 've been using this opening for white and never knew this counter attack. I also didn't realize black could castle with the knight on F7...mind blown

[@lyrashen6414]

Very nice attack

[@ShotDownInFlames2]

Thanks much! You just made my game more fun, and maybe even more successful.

[@patarsianturi3756]

thank you , good information

[@Gromst3rr]

The example game was so amazing...

[@LudiCoka]

I really like the fact that white was checkmated with all of his pieces (excluding couple of pawns) on the board!

[@philnoll]

@MrMuggyMuggy If white plays Bxf7+, black is prepared to play Ke7, and use the f-file for a king attack. This is one of white's best options. Played correctly, white can keep a small advantage

[@nunyaa5]

good vid keep up the good work.. i dont even play chess that much but i love watching your videos

[@angusfong762]

5:22 kingside castling would result in checkmate! Black plays nh6, revealed double checking the king; king has to move in to h8, and qxf8 is mate.

[@ne0romantic]

The lines which are playable in his view are in his article which I sent in my last post. If you read the article you can see the lines.

[@AnkitGuptamovingthings]

excellent

[@Auliliae]

@chanabnagar It's a valid line, and probably the safest for White for avoiding crazy complications. 5. Bxf7 Ke7 6. Bd5 Rf8 and so on. Black is down a pawn and can't castle, but Black has a pawn structure in the centre that is solid for a while, and the potential to overwhelm White's kingside with so many pieces aimed that way.

[@stas2000]

great stuff! got to play this 7 times already and 6 wins in less then 10 moves

[@onceapawnatime4121]

Thank you for the video!!! :) Took notes 3 pages long lol

[@batdorfvideo]

@xlzyfox black would not be able to take because the king would also be in check by the bishop on c4. Its a double check so black cannot block or capture, only move. black would be forced to move and would only have one space to move to.

[@Josh-ce5kg]

Very inspiring video :) Thanks

[@mahasinhossen2502]

In 13:02, Be2(black) Bxe2(white) Nxe2++(black) and checkmate.. If after Be2(black) white gives any other move then Qf1++ and checkmate

[@InkedCarpenter1776]

That was awesome!

[@HidalgoCrypto]

FINNALY! WE GET A VIDEO

[@UndertheDomeInRome]

at 13:01 the black bishop can move to e2 making a checkmate in 1 move with queen, if whites bishop on c4 takes, then knight on d4 can retake with a checkmate in one.

[@infiniteV115]

@shinyninetales999 If white pushes g3, black can simply move his queen to f6 and this is the exact same position as if he had gone to f6 in the first place, except white now has a weakness added to the kingside. Also after the g3 Qf6 position, black can (probably not immediately but later on in the game) push the d pawn and then bring the bishop to h3.

[@Kanwulf802]

I realized, this only works if earlier when you play d5, he captures with the bishop instead of the pawn. This is based on an online game I've played before,

[@mychannel594]

And anyway, I didn't say there was anything wrong with the chess content. This is constructive criticism. If I were him, I'd be glad someone brought it to his attention.

[@spenceAMS]

Amazing - had never seen such a counter attack to fried liver this good.

[@richardstevenson371]

Can confirm. Got wrecked by this in bullet

[@ToxX4N]

Simply Beautiful :*

[@Noorstud]

Thanks

[@satkarchhetri6539]

Last one was superb

[@chesswebsite]

Thanks Satkar. Glad you enjoyed.

[@2CSST2]

there's so much stuff happening at the same TIIIIIME

[@frannieization]

great traps!

[@TyroneFerrara]

The fried liver attack? Nice. Bxf2... wow! And b5 took my by surprise, very creative. Bd3 took some nerve; even if I saw the mating combo, I'm taking the queen just in case I overlooked something. excellent video! As a matter of fact, I'm going to showcase this in my list of favorites.

[@shinyninetales999]

@chanabnagar actually that's a better move, it's also more often played a GM games

[@kikook222]

@thechesswebsite On that note I never realized you could protect your rook like that.

[@Tutterkop]

@tagginos you can't castle if the king is being attacked, will be attacked in the castled position, or if the king is attacked in motion (aka the square wich he passes through)

[@bodhisyoutubechannelofcool7941]

10:51 The Knight on d4 was actually threatening Bg4

[@bpplus9713]

someone destroyed me with this...I had no Idea what was happening. Glad I stumbled on this video

[@victormuntean4097]

18:44 How about Rb8+ Nb7 Rxb7+ and after Ka5 comes Rb5# and after Ka3 comes Ra7+ Ba4 and Rxa4#

[@user-uq3iw2nf6x]

fascinating

[@1Deejay7]

Wow that was a very interesting game. Wonder how far he thought into it? Amazing

[@Sesquipedalia]

14:29 what if took with the support of the bishop attacks the queen? The queen will die isn't it?

[@JustJustus8]

13:02 After Kg1, Ne2 would be a good option too. White bisshop has to take and you recapture with black bisshop, threatening mate.

[@eoghan.5003]

My favourite bit was when he said "at the same time"

[@chesswebsite]

There was so much going on at the same time in this video it was crazy. I try really hard in new videos not to say it but back in the day...oh boy.