Mortimer Trap
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The Mortimer Trap is a
chess opening The opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established Chess_theory#Opening_theory, theory. The other phases are the chess middlegame, middlegame and the chess endgame, endgame. Many opening sequences, known as ''op ...
trap in the
Ruy Lopez The Ruy Lopez (; ), also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bb5 The Ruy Lopez remains one of the most popular chess openings, featuring many variations. In ...
named after
James Mortimer James Mortimer may refer to: * James Mortimer (chess player) (1833–1911), American/British chess player, journalist, and playwright * James Mortimer (dogshow judge) (1842–1915), British dogshow judge * Jim Mortimer (1921–2013), British trade u ...
. The Mortimer Trap is a true trap in the sense that Black deliberately plays an inferior move to tempt White into making a mistake.


Analysis

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 :The trap begins with Black playing the Berlin Defense to the Ruy Lopez. Although the Berlin was much more popular in the 19th century than in the 20th, it "became the height of
theory A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...
when
Vladimir Kramnik Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (; born 25 June 1975) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. He was the World Chess Champion#Split title (1993–2006), Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the 14th undisputed World Ch ...
used it as his main defense to defeat
Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born Garik Kimovich Weinstein on 13 April 1963) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion (1985–2000), political activist and writer. His peak FIDE chess Elo rating system, ra ...
in their 2000
World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
match." 4. d3 :White plays a quiet alternative to the more common 4.0-0, 4.d4, or 4.Nc3 (the last would transpose to the
Four Knights Game The Four Knights Game is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Nc3 Nf6 This is the most common sequence, but the knights may in any order to reach the same position. The Four Knights usually leads to quiet ...
). I. A. Horowitz and
Fred Reinfeld Fred Reinfeld (January 27, 1910 – May 29, 1964) was an American writer on chess and many other subjects. He was also a strong chess master, often among the top ten American players from the early 1930s to the early 1940s, as well as a colleg ...
wrote that 4.d3 is " Steinitz's move, with which he scored many spectacular successes during his long reign as
World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
." 4... Ne7 :The Mortimer Defense, intending to reroute the
knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...
to g6. This rare move loses and thus is inferior to other moves, but it sets a trap. White has several acceptable replies, for example 5.Bc4 c6 6.Nc3 Ng6 7.h4 with the upper hand and an attack (
Keres In Greek mythology, the Keres (; Ancient Greek: Κῆρες) were female death-spirits. They were the goddesses who personified violent death and who were drawn to bloody deaths on battlefields. Although they were present during death and dyin ...
, Olafsson), but the tempting capture of the black
pawn Pawn most often refers to: * Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous chess piece in the game * Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral Pawn or The Pawn may also refer to: Places * Pa ...
on e5 is a mistake. 5. Nxe5 c6! (see diagram) :Attacking the white
bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
and threatening 6...Qa5+. If the bishop moves (6.Ba4 or 6.Bc4), Black wins a piece with 6...Qa5+, forking the white
king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
and
knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...
. 6. Nc4 :Covering a5 and thus preventing 6...Qa5+, and threatening
smothered mate In chess, a smothered mate is a checkmate delivered by a knight in which the mated king is unable to move because it is completely surrounded (or ''smothered'') by its own pieces, which a knight can jump over. The mate is usually seen in a corner ...
with 7.Nd6#. 6... Ng6! :After 6...d6 7.Ba4, Black forks the white bishop and knight with 7...b5, winning a piece for two pawns. Likewise after 6...Ng6, Black will win .


Discussion

Mortimer played his defense at the 1883 London tournament against
Berthold Englisch Berthold Englisch (9 July 1851 in Hotzenplotz – 19 October 1897 in Vienna) was a chess master from Austria-Hungary. Englisch was born in Austrian Silesia, Austrian Empire into a Jewish family. He earned his living as a stock-market agent. He ...
, Samuel Rosenthal, and Josef Noa, losing all three games.
Johannes Zukertort Johannes Hermann Zukertort (; 7 September 1842 – 20 June 1888) was a Polish-born British-German chess master. He was one of the leading world players for most of the 1870s and 1880s, but lost to Wilhelm Steinitz in the World Chess Championship ...
, the tournament winner, also played it against Englisch, the game resulting in a
draw Draw, drawing, draws, or drawn most commonly refer to: * Draw (terrain), a terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between them * Draw (tie), in a competition, where competitors achieve equal outcomes * Draw ...
.Englisch–Zukertort
/ref> Zukertort wrote of 4...Ne7, "Mr. Mortimer claims to be the inventor of this move. I adopted it on account of its novelty." The first edition of the
treatise A treatise is a Formality, formal and systematic written discourse on some subject concerned with investigating or exposing the main principles of the subject and its conclusions."mwod:treatise, Treatise." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Acc ...
''Chess Openings, Ancient and Modern'' analyzed 5.Nc3 Ng6 6.0-0 c6 7.Ba4 d6 8.Bb3 and now the authors gave either 8...Be6 or 8...Be7 as giving Black an equal game. A bit more recently, Horowitz and Reinfeld observed of 4...Ne7, "This time-wasting retreat of the Knight to an inferior square blocks the development of the King Bishop ... . Yet it is a matter of record that this pitfall had a vogue for many years."


References

Bibliography * * * * * *{{cite book , editor1-last=Minchin , editor1-first=J. I. , title=Games Played in the London International Chess Tournament 1883 , publisher=British Chess Magazine, year=1973, edition=reprint , asin=B000HX3HE6 Chess traps