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A perfect example of what I'm looking for is a position like this one, the "Blackburne Shilling Gambit"

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Nd4?

[fen "r1bqkbnr/pppp1ppp/8/4p3/2BnP3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 4 4"]

The stats from Lichess show that Nxe5 is the second most popular move - being played half as often as the most popular move - despite giving a decisive advantage to black.

In this case at least, it's obvious enough that it's an intentional gambit from black and a dubious line to play into. In other positions, however, there's much less reason to suspect an otherwise typical opening move will lead to a tactic. I know I've certainly run into those positions when playing against an engine, though I can't remember any in particular

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  • 1
    Does any of these answer your question? chess.stackexchange.com/questions/15744/… chess.stackexchange.com/questions/822/…
    – hb20007
    Jan 8, 2022 at 7:59
  • Those look promising, thank you. I'll check them out. I deliberately avoided asking about opening "traps" because I didn't want to exclude scenarios where the misplay isn't necessarily a move the opposing side is hoping for when playing the line. Granted that that's the case with the example I gave though..
    – mowwwalker
    Jan 8, 2022 at 18:16
  • 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 a6 3.d4?!
    – David
    Jan 9, 2022 at 12:15

1 Answer 1

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A perfect example of this would be the Stafford Gambit. Analysis done by IM Eric Rosen shows many very tricky traps.

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