The Monticelli Trap is a chess opening

Chess opening

A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...

 trap in the Bogo-Indian Defence

Bogo-Indian Defence

The Bogo-Indian Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-Variations:White has three viable moves to meet the check. 4.Nc3 is a transposition to the Kasparov Variation of the Nimzo-Indian, therefore the main independent variations are 4.Bd2 and 4.Nbd2.-4...

, named for Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 champion Mario Monticelli

Mario Monticelli

Mario Monticelli was an Italian chess grandmaster.In 1922, he won in Rome . In 1925, he won in Bologna. In 1926, Monticelli tied for 1st with Ernst Grünfeld in Budapest. In 1929, he took 11th in Budapest . In 1929, he tied for 4-5th in Barcelona...

 from the game Monticelli versus Prokeš

Ladislav Prokeš

Ladislav Prokeš was one of the most prolific composers of endgame studies in chess. He was born and died in Prague....

, Budapest

Budapest

Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

 1926.

The trap begins with the moves

1. d4 Nf6

2. c4 e6

3. Nf3 Bb4+

Black plays the Bogo-Indian-Defence.

4. Bd2 Bxd2+

5. Qxd2 b6

6. g3 Bb7

7. Bg2 O-O

8. Nc3 Ne4

9. Qc2 Nxc3

10. Ng5!

(See diagram.)

Black must respond to two different threats: the mate

Checkmate

Checkmate is a situation in chess in which one player's king is threatened with capture and there is no way to meet that threat. Or, simply put, the king is under direct attack and cannot avoid being captured...

 threat 11. Qxh7# and 11. Bxb7 winning a bishop

Bishop (chess)

A bishop is a piece in the board game of chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops. One starts between the king's knight and the king, the other between the queen's knight and the queen...

 and a rook

Rook (chess)

A rook is a piece in the strategy board game of chess. Formerly the piece was called the castle, tower, marquess, rector, and comes...

.

However, chess legend José Raúl Capablanca (Black) showed this trap was not so irrefutable when he drew

Draw (chess)

In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...

 in a game against fellow legend Max Euwe

Max Euwe

Machgielis Euwe was a Dutch chess Grandmaster, mathematician, and author. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion . Euwe also served as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 1970 to 1978.- Early years :Euwe was born in Watergraafsmeer, near Amsterdam...

 (White) in 1931 (Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

).

Capablanca responded with

10. ... Ne4!

11. Bxe4 Bxe4

12. Qxe4 Qxg5

13. Qxa8 Nc6

14. Qb7 Nxd4

15. Rd1 c5

16. e3 Nc2+

17. Kd2 Qf5

18. Qg2 Nb4

19. e4 Qf6

20. Kc1 Nxa2+

21. Kb1 Nb4

22. Rxd7 Nc6

23. f4 e5

24. Rhd1 Nd4

25. Rxa7 exf4

26. gxf4 Qxf4

27. Re1 Nf3

28. Re2 Nd4

29. Re1 (½-½).

Nonetheless, this trap is still a massive blow to most opponents.