Day 7: Légal’s mate: a pin to the queen is not a real pin
This day is not open yet
Finish the previous day first; each new trap opens the day after.
All 7 daysYou play Black. Find a move that does not fall for the trap.
Make your move on the board first — the explanation appears afterwards.
What now?
- Read the short explanation below (about 30 seconds).
- That was the last day — well done! Hundreds more traps are waiting in the full library.
The tempting mistake
5...Nxe4? trusts the bishop on g4 to hold the knight on f3. But that knight is only pinned to the queen, not to the king: 6.Nxe5! moves it anyway. If Black grabs the queen with 6...Bxd1??, then 7.Bxf7+ Ke7 8.Nd5# is Légal’s mate. Other replies also leave Black clearly worse.
The safe defence
Just keep developing: 5...Be7, 5...Nc6 or 5...Bh5 keep the position roughly balanced. Before you grab a pawn, check whether the “pinned” piece can still move with a threat.
All 7 days done
You have seen all 7 traps. The full library has hundreds more, each with the same test.
All opening trapsSource and review
Example game from the trap collection: Hartlaub - Worch, 1890
Source study (Lichess) · Background reading (Wikipedia) · Full trap page
Automated check on 2026-10-10: the line was replayed move by move and the key moves were checked with Stockfish (depth 18).
Human review: ChessGL team, 2026-10-11.