Tactical Challenges

Chess Puzzle No. 308: Does Black’s castling hide an immediate trap?

Posted on 3 November 2026 by Delphine D.

03
Nov

In a rapid game from January 2022 between players rated around 1400, after an English Opening: Agincourt Defence, Black has just castled on move 10. White to play: find the continuation.

TacticsIntermediateWhite to play

White to play and win material

Puzzle: Lichess open database (CC0) · Pieces: Cburnett, Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

See the solution explained

1.Bg5 attacks Black’s queen on f6, leaving Black with 37 legal replies to deal with this direct threat.

Black answers with 1…Qxb2, capturing a pawn but abandoning the f6 square.

2.Bxe7 captures Black’s knight on e7, leaving Black with 40 legal replies: the bishop picks up material that was left insufficiently protected.

In the real game, the player did find 1.Bg5, though whether the whole combination was completed is not confirmed by the available data. Remember the motif: an attack on the queen that opens the door to a free capture behind it, a classic light skewer.

The English Opening, already on the board from the first moves here, has appealed to generations of amateurs and masters alike for its positional flexibility. If opening study interests you, a complete chess set lets you replay such games piece in hand, as does a mechanical chess clock for practising at a fast pace.

Delphine D.

Delphine D. is the lead writer of the editorial team at Le Palais des Échecs, a shop specialising since 2008 in wooden chess sets, chessboards and backgammon sets. Her guides draw on the shop's hands-on experience: more than 5,000 customers advised and a catalogue built around the woods that make beautiful sets. Pale, very fine-grained boxwood set against ebony or rosewood for the pieces; maple, walnut and mahogany for the boards; palisander, olive wood or burr wood for exceptional models. Choosing a set for a child, a wedding or retirement gift, comparing woods, having a board engraved: she helps every reader find the set that suits them. Find out more about Delphine D. and the editorial team - Facebook - Pinterest - Youtube