Chess Traps: Magnus Smith Trap (Sicilian Defense)

The Magnus Smith Trap is a common trap that you see in the Sicilian Defense (Fischer Variation). If black tries to develop his g pawn instead of his e pawn he will be in a lot of trouble
www.thechesswebsite.com
Chess Software used in the video can be found at www.chesscentral.com and www.chessok.com

[@kkakdugiman]

@3:50 - I saw this trap when I was a young teen, but I found out it's refuted. After e6 by white, black can play ....f5! stops all threats. My so-called teacher Yves didn't believe me until I played this in the tournament, my opponent couldn't believe he lost that game.

[@adamcarlsen5953]

But can't white just use en passant?

[@kkakdugiman]

@@adamcarlsen5953 no. If the pawn is on e5 and black plays f5, then white can play en passant with exf6. In this case, white's pawn went to e6 so there's no en passant and black has the privilege of playing f5.

[@adamcarlsen5953]

@@kkakdugiman Oh, i see. My mistake.

[@kkakdugiman]

@@adamcarlsen5953 No worries. Cheers!

[@SNLelouch]

yes.. after f5 all white's advantage is gone and black is nicely consolidated... ready to castle... bring knight back to f6 with King's Indian style attack I think... and engine will show -0.2 to -0.5.

[@chesswebsite]

Great question, early on in a game, the two weaknesses on the board are f2 and f7 as they are only defended by the kings and are very vulnerable, esp if there are multiple attacks on the square. The light square bishop attacks the f7 pawn of black and vice versa for the dark square bishop for black. Later on in the game the significance of bishops is determined by pawn structure but in early game that's why.

[@annaflouri]

1:10 isnt bishop b5 better than bishop c4?

[@solfeinberg437]

7:10 "His queen's gonna be playing on the sidelines". I didn't get this. I thought that might mean the a or h file and out of the center action. I was actually thinking "So, it's not trapped?" Finally, trying to review this move order (my memory is very slow), I understood. It means, not playing; off the board. This reminds me of Yasser Seirawan saying "Chess is a team sport" meaning you've got to get all your players (pieces) involved.

[@robertmcvickers5975]

haha, this made me chuckle.

[@Khepriem]

I'm not much into sports but you learn the lingo just by living in the south of the US your whole life.

[@chesswebsite]

Yep, gotta come from somewhere right :)

[@bobbico03]

thechesswebsite At 6:24 where you mentioned you did know if black had any good moves. What happens if black plays pawn d5? Doing a double attack on the bishop and knight?

[@ln9296]

@@bobbico03 you always have Nf6+

[@ldeans5620]

This is a fun and instructive video.

[@amalangigkn]

Thanks a lot for this beautiful demonstration ! It gave me a vision to look at this defense !

[@brownsmithandco.9407]

My name is LEGIT Magnus Smith

[@barflugnarven]

Dude same

[@iamosiris6594]

Wtf

[@haili_sahwardi886]

BrownSmith and Co. hi LEGIT Magnus Smith :) *haha im so funny....*

[@firstname8078]

@@haili_sahwardi886 hi so funny

[@gustavomonterohernandez5091]

At 6:50 there is a variation that kindles a little hope on Black's side. Dark square bishop from f8 to f7 defending f6 after for example white's dark square bishop from c1 to h6 or pawn from e5 to e6 then Black castle king side. The position is open but I think is the best variation for black to coordinate pieces.

[@hackman1911]

i tried this as soon as i saw the video, and it worked to a "T", i couldn't believe it. Once again thanks Kevin.

[@colster71]

Very nice, thanks. I'm reviewing my old games to see how often it occurs as I do play the Fischer variation.

[@reaperyt6817]

after e6 blocking the defender of knight that is bishop... black can simply play f5 ... and the postion will be balanced later... i think taking on d6 would be better

[@srikantann]

If g6 is to be played, it's gotta be a lot earlier as an accelerated or hyper-accelerated dragon variation. Otherwise, you usually don't see higher rated players going for that move so late...

[@lylevivaan9007]

i guess im asking randomly but does anybody know of a way to get back into an instagram account..? I was stupid lost the password. I would love any help you can offer me

[@asherjose3968]

@Lyle Vivaan instablaster =)

[@lylevivaan9007]

@Asher Jose I really appreciate your reply. I got to the site through google and Im in the hacking process atm. Looks like it's gonna take quite some time so I will get back to you later with my results.

[@lylevivaan9007]

@Asher Jose It did the trick and I finally got access to my account again. I am so happy! Thanks so much you saved my ass :D

[@asherjose3968]

@Lyle Vivaan glad I could help =)

[@jillharveyfrancisco2797]

Tnx a lot, ur techniques work, im starting to dominate chess games in my neighborhood., it gives me confidence to play against better opponents thinking that im already getting used to ur style, tnx n god bless..

[@xincognitopbx]

To answer the multiple 5:00 - 5:21 questions, Qe6 would only gain a pawn where the queen is much more useful attacking f7. Look at it again. Qe6 black responds Bd7 and the queen covers the rook from the fork

[@EliasAxelPettersson]

It is better for white in all lines after g6, but I would suggest 8...d5 and not moving the knight. You will have a worse pawn structure, and probably lose a pawn (for black), but in exchange, you will have the bishop pair. After exf6 and dxc4, then Qe2. What do you think?

[@adityasatam5720]

at 5:52 also we can put our queen to f6 and if the queen takes queen then pawn takes queen and then we can take the knight..also if we try to defend its queen with bishop pressurizing our queeen then we can also take the knight

[@balakrishnarao1017]

Super play sir, Well explained.

[@bunner19]

@Brahninja because then white checks with Nf6 and when the king moves to e7 then the knight can take on d5. If black takes with the pawn then white plays bishop g5 and blacks down his queen.

[@13mdark]

@Brahninja because after d5 white will move Nf6 check the king will be forced to move and the bishop will get a chance to scape

[@60secondsguitar]

This is an amazing video. Thanks so much for sharing your expertise.

[@Sheendude]

The reason is because yes, although it a free pawn, white has such a dynamic positon, taking just a pawn would, yes gain white material, but in the long run white is much better off if he keeps attacking.

[@jcb3883]

my opponent does not capture the first pawn (d,4) when I set these kinds of traps what do I do if this happens?

[@thecurious926]

but why is it called the Magnus Smith trap? i do remember watching analysis of a game magnus carlsen played where he played e5. is that why?

[@infiniteV115]

@infiniteV115 All in all, black has very few options with dxe5, because of this trap. There's just so much pressure, black is going to have a LOT of trouble.

[@ruleroflimbs]

at 5:40 after the white pawn attacks the knight, could black move his pawn to d5 attacking the bishop? if white takes the knight, black can take bishop and if white moves back his bishop to b3, black can still move his knight and has more bord control than before.

[@pokesprite266]

you have great videos, they are like chess books but more visual.

[@kenzho]

@Brahninja d5 loses to Nf6 check, if the Black king moves to e7 then the follow-up move would be Queen to a3 with a check, Black can move his pawn to c5 to block the check but then all White would do is to capture the pawn and what follows is a CHECKMATE :)

[@shorbock]

@rainbowburger Of course you're right ! I calculated quickly and without checking, so when i saw a winning move i didn't look further, forgetting the chess motto ( from Fischer i think) "when u find a good move, look for a better one" That said my move is completely winning, even though not mating like Qa3

[@AngelOfDeathAc]

At 6:21 white can play kb5 sacrificing his knight and if black accepts, white can go bb5 and check, black can now either block with qd7 or king to e7, then white will qf6 and check mate. any comments? I am pretty much new with chess and this occured to me while watching, so if mistaken please don't judge :D

[@softgandhi]

@ikhwansofian In reply to Black's d5, white will ply 1. Nf6+ Ke7 (forced) 2. Nxd5 If black captures Knight, Bf5+ where black will loose his queen.

[@benhahn7105]

If after you push the pawn forward to block the bishop then f5 and it says the position is equal.

[@europeanbamf]

@ikhwansofian Now I see it. The best move for white imo would be then to move the knight to f6 where he can put the king in check. This will buy some time for the bishop's retreat.

[@WolfPad]

***** Bishop blocks, attacking white queen and defending rook with black queen. White gains a pawn but loses momentum on the attack. One variation to follow after bishop block could be: 1. Qe4 -- Rc8 2. exd6 -- Bxd6 3. Qd4 and black castles Kingside. Taking on c6 is not bad but definitely not the best continuation.

[@AkshaySinghJamwal]

Would be nice if you could have the moves leading up to the trap in the description. Regardless, great video.

[@Addrammelech]

At 3:50, I feel black's critical move after white pushes to e6 is to push his f pawn to f5 instead of capturing with the bishop. This defends the knight and places white's pawn permanently on e6, where it could potentially become hard to defend since it's only (current) defender is the white bishop. Thoughts?

[@shorbock]

@Brahninja Because of Nf6+ ! then Ke7 Bg5 brings trouble (for example h6 doesn't save the queen : Nxd5 double check!)

[@TomoBuddy]

@NickkRagz Because Bd7 blocks the check while attacking your queen. You also can't take the rook because it's now protected by the queen.

[@narvegiljenordas4237]

What can I do if black responds with e6 after Bc4? Very nice line with g6 by the way :)

[@saito853]

5:45 What if Black plays d5 at this position, pushing white's light square bishop back then retreat the knight, that way he can open up the dark square bishop diagonal, preventing Ne4 at the same time.

[@theslimeking12]

Because Nf6 is check and that allows his light bishop out of the way . Also black would be forced to move king like he said in video with Nf6

[@TonyRaybeats]

but after e6 for black.. the e5 pawn for white seems to be hanging..

[@Winna16x]

My guess would be continue with main line (pawn caps a6) if black trys to capture with his pawn just take his queen not allowing him to castle and your not behind in material

[@stephenmai2002]

at 3:48 what happens to knight to e5? doesn't that save it all cause it attacks the bishop and protects the f7 pawn

[@SNLelouch]

I was checking the engine line... It's showing after 8. e5 Ng4, if you push 9. e6 then just 9. ... f5 and all the advantages white had is gone.

[@born2range8]

@europeanbamf If he moves g6 before he moved Nc6, its simple this trap wont work. THIS TRAP ONLY WORKS IF YOU REACH AN EXACT POSITION AS 2:16. Because g6 before Nc6 is actually an opening called Dragon variation of sicilian. Which is a stronger counter attack for white.

[@maxwellcollinge6696]

what interface do you use to make these videos??

[@TheVinylFactor]

Isnt a better for black to move pawn to e5 at 2:00 to make preassure on the knight?

[@maurob844]

when e5 is played, what would happen if black, instead of moving the Knight plays d5 attacking the white bishop?

[@Silvergrooves42]

9 years late, but after e6 at 5:37, Bg5 is waay better than the suggest g4, since the queen is tied down to defending the Qxc6 threat

[@TheMusicFreakTheodor]

At 6:20, instead of moving the night to e4, you can move the bishop to b5. If he captures you with his c-pawn, you will take his rock on a8.

[@NikosReegas]

"If" he caputres.. but instead black rook to B8! preparing the B7 squear for his Bishop which a is strong move for black. Or black bishop to D7..followed by black rook to B7 and white just won a pawn. Better than nothing one might say but here white's got a lot more to gain than just a pawn.

[@jkid1134]

@born2range8 IF white plays Bx57+, black is forced to play Kxf7. White can then safely respond with Qxd8.

[@rainbowburger]

@shorbock Qa3+ is better by a lot than Bg5. The threat done by Qa3 is more immediate than Bg5

[@adamyoghurt]

At 6:23 a neat trick occurred to me. If Bg5 for white, and black captures with queen, then queen to c5 causes a ton of problems for black. We manage to get 3 points up, and gain a tempo, thoughts?

[@MrFaizel92]

how can the queen go to c5 right away when she is on f3?

[@adamyoghurt]

Feto SA c6, sorry

[@CapDanAddams]

***** His first opportunity to move to c6 with the queen from f3 is at 4:54, but yeah the uploader seems to not realize that hahaha

[@TheAmericanPrometheus]

He can just block with his queen @ d7?

[@CapDanAddams]

but then the rook gets taken

[@matthewho2218]

But usually in the Sicilian defence accelerated dragon, black fiancettos the bishop first before developing the knight to c6

[@MegaNabz786]

I have only played chess a handful of times but at 5:00, why doesn't the white queen take c6? From there you open up the kind and the queen on black side?

[@jackiles3984]

At 6:39, why not d5, forking the Knight and Bishop?

[@drmoneee6692]

My boy, was going to comment the same comment..

[@_vzhux5164]

d5, Nf6+, Ke7, Bb3 or Bd3 or Be2 or Bf1.

[@_vzhux5164]

@Andrew Gulden d5, Nd6+, Bxd6, xd6, xc4, Qxc6+, Bd7, Qxc4. White take 1 Bishop and 2 pawns Black take 1 Bishop and 1 Knight

[@maarcuz5570]

@@_vzhux5164 Ke7 Qa3 ...

[@jacquesdubot4795]

vZhuX _ what about f5 at 3:45?

[@siddhantsonar823]

very good video good work kevin

[@mayankchauhan4788]

At 3:46 what if black captures the e6 pawn with f7 pawn instead of bishop?

[@siddhantsonar823]

yuan thats right d5! gr8 move for black

[@nirbhayagrawal9063]

4:44 he can play bishop to e6

[@darkstun5753]

At 2:33 can black play ND7 instead of H5?

[@vinht11]

out of all the gambit and opening what is your best recomendation for white.

[@russelsmail]

Is there a good move for white when black moves Be6 instead of e6 to block off the white bishop aiming at f7 ? ( after the Fischer recommended Qf3 )

[@teodorekerg1896]

@5:39 whats wrong with Qxc6#

[@LordCargena]

this opening is call Sozin Attack. in the move 6 black can play another move and thats is pawn to e5, attacking the knight. another square for the knight in move 8 is d7. is blocking the bishop on c8 but is a better variation i think, and the bishop can move to b7. in the eleven move is interesting the variation of pawn to d5, attacking bichop and knight. then 12. Nf6+ .Ke7 13. Bg5 (if black is dont carefull he will lose the queen with a discover attack of bishop, so the only move to save the queen is) 13... Qa5+ 14. b4 Qxb4 15. c3 Qb2 (as u can se this pawn sacrifice is to win tempo to attack the knig, and now is a verry difficult position to black to defend) 16 Nd5+ (double check, so King must move and he can move to e8 or d7) in 16.. Kd7 17. Qxf7+ Be7 18 Qxe7++ and in 16... Ke5 17. Nc7+ Kd7 18.Qxf7+ Be7 19 Qxe7++ interesting trap

[@steffenchess]

that would be another line

[@jackiles3984]

Actually, the Fischer/Sozin Attack comes from the Najdorf. The line is e4, c5 Nf3, d6, d4, cxd4, nxd4, a6, and Bc4. This is the Fischer Sozin attack

[@MrSolidflame]

at 3:45 how come knight cant just move to Ne5 threatening both the bishop and defending the pawn?

[@ADickGooglSucks]

3:48 wouldn't it be smarter for black to capture with his pawn e6, then capture the bishop with bishop e6? or as @Zoran Jankovic said, just move pawn f5

[@duddijonsson4]

hmm maybe he could kill with white bishop on d5 and black takes with one of the pawns and then white moves knight to f6 and black moves king forward and then you take the pawn at d5 now black has to kill it with his other pawn and now you take with the rook and you are pressuring the queen and his king is very vurnable i dont know if this is even good but it's one possibility that i can see if he does that :D

[@teammagicthegatherin]

after Ne4 and the pawn goes goes to e5 you bring your N to f6+ and when the king goes to e7 Bg5!And when the Q moves you you move B to b3 prepearing to go to c4!

[@born2range8]

What do you do at 3:20 , if I play d5 as black instead of moving Nh5. Because, ..8. e5 d5, 9. dxf6 dxc4 Problem seems to be solved Because for loose pawn c4 it can easily be protected from Bh6. Since, white doesn't have white bishop and only 1 knight it will be easy to protect the loose pawns.

[@christopherhoffman2560]

At 6:57 for black play D5 double attacking bishop and knight.

[@lamardaley3818]

look at this principle why cant white push d5

[@SanketPatelJ]

@SweatersDotCom black uses the white squared bishop to defend the check and you won't sacrifice queen for the rook!

[@aniruddhamersey4139]

What if black plays d5 after white plays e5...then what do you do?

[@infiniteV115]

@kmart1303 dxe5, Bg5 Be7, Nf6+ Bxf6, Bxf6. If black goes with Qa5+ to stall and try to save the knight, then c3 0-0, b4 Qb6/c7, Bxe5 with mate threat in Qf6 later on. If black DOESN'T castle after Qa5+ c3, he either loses knight or Qxc6+ Kf8, Qxa8 pinning Bc8 which can't be defended. dxe5, Bg5 Qc7 or Qb6, Nf6+ Ke7/Kd8, Nd5+ Kd7/e8, NxQ. dxe5, Bg5 Qa5+, c3 Be7, Bxe7 Kxe7 Qf6+. If Kf8, Ng5 Qc7, Bxe6 with mate threat. If black takes back with bishop, Nxe6+ wins either queen or both rooks.

[@offgrid9262]

great video man

[@mssmaths]

Awesome videos!

[@petermaniatakos4027]

you can also move queen to c6, putting the king in check and allowing you to take his rook

[@nigelcooper465]

+Peter Maniatakos Black can play Bd7, so his rook is protected by his queen. Still, White has won a pawn. But the win after that is slower than the attack given here.

[@devoncox5648]

+Peter Maniatakos I was thinking the same thing

[@JakeFusaro]

Thanks this helped a lot.

[@AmplifyOfficial]

but what if he does move the pawn to e6 at 1:38?

[@europeanbamf]

At 5:48 Qc6 seems like a good move, forking the rook and king. Do you agree?

[@callmewisdom]

@europeanbamf not realy, cause he can simply play Bd7 and make the queen go back. You'd win a pawn with that move, but loose a tempo and that would be enough for black to build up a defense and even tough he'd be down a pawn he'd have better chances than else.

[@gggg1111]

absolutely great... thanks a lot

[@runebladercrypto]

Wtf U deserve more subs dude

[@Kabitu1]

Very nice videos, but when explaining this kind of maneuver, start by summing up who is making the trap, and put emphasis on which moves sets it up, and which moves falls into it. Im having trouble knowing what to look out for.

[@mwapemwewa4552]

...Ng4 is possible because if e6 then black can play f5 and the e6 pawn is weak.

[@shinyninetales999]

this trap can be done in other variations of the sicilian

[@rigonkrasniqi4576]

2:40 what if black plays d5

[@MrSolidflame]

at 6:25 right after Ne4, how come exd5 would not work?

[@europeanbamf]

At 1:03 what should we do if he moves g6 instead of Nc6? I tried to pull this trap online and I got thrown off when he decided to move his pawn instead

[@JakeFusaro]

At 2:00 what would be the best response from white to bg4?

[@annaeugenio3858]

after he/she moves e6 you could do Qxc6

[@ziweizhang3933]

Would pawn to f5 work for black at 4:28?

[@McRoos]

@Brahninja On 6:23 black should not play d5 as an answer to Ne4! Because white will then win the Queen: 1.Ne4 d5 2.Nf6+ Qxf6 (...Ke7? 3.Qa3+ c5 4.Qxc5+ Qd6 5.Qxd6#) 3.exf6

[@uthamanj4117]

@ 6:51 if he plays d5 it is a double attack wat will be the reply of white????

[@timw3447]

Uthaman J That's actually a terrible and fatal move for white evident in just two moves. 1. Nf6+ .. Ke7 [only move unless you give up the queen] 2. Bg5 [Ignoring the pawn threatening the white bishop, threatening a discovered check from a knight move to win the queen] ... black has very few options here and will be # soon

[@shanewilder5206]

Tim Weidinger Thank you. I was wondering the same. :)

[@TF2Starlight]

queen f6 cheak ,forking the knight, and after recapture rook

[@sauldelafuente7942]

BikeRaceCat cheak? I havnt heard of that tactic 😂

[@adebayoadegboyega1658]

Tim Weidinger actually after 1...d5 2. Nf6! Ke7. Not 3Bg5!? but 3Qa3+!! With mate to follow

[@banjoben1234]

at 6:45, black pawn can move from d6 to d5 and fork white's knight and bishop. how does white win from there?

[@derrickmah3565]

@6:20 - why doesn't Qxc66, forking the king and the rook?

[@derrickmah3565]

k

[@McRoos]

i covered the Ke7 variation. This will lead to mate, which is why black has to give up the Queen.

[@RandyIsC0o00o0L]

@Brahninja He check the king.

[@europeanbamf]

5:40 would pawn to f5 be a good move for black?

[@CaptainHabib]

but after bishop moves to there is no need to move any ot the pawns e2 or g2 the queen can simply go on b6 what then?