Off The Wall Chess     
Bill Wall's Chess Resource Site

William (Bill) Dale Wall is an American chess author and journalist. . He learned chess around age 13 and took chess seriously when he joined the Tacoma, Washington Chess Club in 1969. He is a past Secretary-Treasurer (1976-1978) and President (1978-1980) of the North Carolina Chess Association and past President (1980-1981) and Secretary-Treasurer (1981-1983) of the Ohio Chess Association. He is a past president of the Dayton Chess Club (1982-1985) in Ohio and the Palo Alto Chess Club (1986-1991) in California. He is a past Secretary of the Chess Journalists of America. He is the author of 30 chess books, including the 500 Chess Miniature series, Larsen's Opening, The Grob, The Orangutan, Winning with the Krazy Kat and Old Hippo, etc. He is a contributor to Chessgames.com and other online chess sites. He is a retired Air Force officer (1970-1995) and former NASA engineer (1985-1991), now working at Harris Corporation in Melbourne, Florida as an Information Security Systems Engineer (ISSE) supporting NOAA and the National Weather Service. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

Other sites byBill Wall

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Wall
• http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lab/7378/chess.htm
• http://www.chessville.com/billwall/index.htm
• http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lab/7378/biochess.htm
• http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=32393

Chess Traps- by Bill Wall

Everyone loves chess traps and every chess player has fallen into a chess trap. A chess trap refers to a situation where a player goes wrong through his own effort, leading to a loss of a piece or the game. Perhaps a player captures an "innocent" pawn, and, as a result, the game is lost. It was a poisoned pawn, and another victim has fallen for chess trap. The trapped player did not notice anything special, but the position suddenly became lost. Masters and grandmasters have fallen for opening traps. This shows that all players must consider knowing opening traps – how to set them and how to avoid them.

In opening traps, brilliancy is blended with tactical play that occurs very early in the game. However, if you are setting up a chess trap, be aware that your opponent may avoid the trap with correct play. You can't force an advantage in chess if your opponent plays accurately. A player must always pay attention to what happens in any position, otherwise the game may be lost when least expected.

Getting caught in a chess trap is no fun. It means one was not prepared to play the most accurate moves in the opening. If the trap occurred later in the middlegame or endgame, it is usually referred as a swindle. A trap is almost always the result of a bad move in the opening. If the game ends in 25 moves or less, the game is known as a miniature. And there have been thousands of miniatures played in every opening.

By studying traps and learning tactics, a player will be able to see what is going on before falling into a trap and avoiding a loss. One learns the openings much better and understands the importance of each move and its positional situation. Studying opening traps helps a player learn the tactics of the opening his is playing as well as learning how to avoid a trap by playing a more correct move.

FREE Download of Bill Wall's popular e book 700 Opening Traps. This collection of chess opening traps is aimed at anyone who enjoys short chess games. And at one time or another, all
players, from Grandmaster to novice, have fallen for a chess trap or sprung one on some unsuspecting opponent. The openings are aranged in alphabetical order so you can peruse your favorite opening and or look at the hundreds of miniature games to help you understand traps. enjoy

1. 300 King's Gambit Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1982 – ISBN 0-931462-27-7
2. 500 Sicilian Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1983 – ISBN 0-931462-24-X
3. 500 French Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1984 – ISBN 0-931462-32-2
4. 500 Queen's Gambit Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1985 – ISBN 0-931462-38-X
5. Larsen's Opening, Chess Enterprises, 1986 – ISBN 0-931462-55-X
6. Owen's Defense, Chess Enterprises, 1986 – ISBN 0-931462-50-9
7. 500 Ruy Lopez Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1986 – ISBN 0-931462-56-8
8. 500 King's Gambit Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1986 – ISBN 0-931462-57-6
9. 500 Italian Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1987 – ISBN 0-931462-65-7
10. 500 Sicilian Miniatures II, Chess Enterprises, 1987 – ISBN 0-931462-73-8
11. Grob's Attack, Chess Enterprises, 1988 – ISBN 0-931462-86-X
12. 500 Queen's Gambit Miniatures II, Chess Enterprises, 1988 – ISBN 0-931462-87-8
13. The Orangutan, Chess Enterprises, 1989 – ISBN 0-931462-92-4
14. 500 Indian Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1990 – ISBN 0-931462-99-1
15. 500 English Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1990 – ISBN 0-945070-04-5
16. The 1990 World Chess Championship, Chess Enterprises, 1991 – ISBN 0-945470-08-8
17. 500 Caro Kann Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1991 – ISBN 0-945470-15-0
18. Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Chess Enterprises, 1992 – ISBN 0-945470-22-3
19. Smith-Morra Gambit Declined, Chess Enterprises, 1993 – ISBN 0-945470-25-8
20. 500 Pirc Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1993 – ISBN 0-945470-38-X
21. 500 Alekhine Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1994 – ISBN 0-945470-38-X
22. Dunst Opening, Chess Enterprises, 1994 – ISBN 0-945470-48-7
23. 500 French Miniatures II, Chess Enterprises, 1995 – ISBN 0-945470-54-1
24. 500 King's Gambit Miniatures II, Chess Enterprises, 1996 – ISBN 0-945470-61-4
25. 500 Scotch Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1997 – ISBN 0-945470-89-4
26. 700 Opening Traps, Chess Enterprises, 1998 – ISBN 0-945470-71-1
27. 500 Blackmar Diemer Gambit Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1999 – ISBN 0-945470-80-0
28. 500 Center Counter Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 2001 – ISBN 0-945470-85-1
29. Off The Wall Chess Trivia, ChessCentral, 2001[9]
30. Winning with the Krazy Kat and Old Hippo, Lulu, 2008
    (with Gary Gifford and Davide Rozzoni)

MATE IN 2

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CONTACT

Bill Wall
bill_wall@bellsouth.net