Learn the Stafford Gambit

C42 · a repertoire for black · 6 chapters · 30 annotated lines

"The internet's deadliest trap weapon"

The Stafford Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nc6!?) is chess's most famous trap weapon: objectively dubious, practically devastating. Black gives a pawn for rocket development and a minefield where almost every natural White move loses on the spot — including the legendary 'Oh No My Queen' checkmate where taking Black's queen gets White mated next move. Every line here is engine-verified: the traps win by force, and you learn exactly which White moves let you spring them.

What's inside

• Chapter 1: The Main Line Minefield — 5.d3
  Lines: Study 1: 'Oh No My Queen!' — 6.Bg5?? and Mate, Study 2: The Castling Trap — 7.O-O?? Ng4!
• Chapter 2: 5.e5, 5.Nc3 and the Decline
  Lines: Study 3: 5.e5 Ne4 6.d3?? — Win the Queen, Study 4: 5.e5 Ne4 6.d4 — the Rook Trap, Study 5: 5.Nc3 — the Ng4! Strike, Study 6: 5.Nc3 Bc5 6.Bc4 — the Double-Check Mate, Study 7: 5.Nc3 Bc5 6.h3 — Answer with ...Qd4!, Study 8: 5.Nc3 Bc5 6.Be2 — the Pawn Comes Back, Study 9: The Decline 4.Nf3 — Free Equality
• Chapter 3: The f2 Massacre — 6.Be3, 6.Qe2 and 6.Nd2
  Lines: Study 10: 6.Be3 — Trade, Strike, and the h3 Fork, Study 11: 6.Qe2 — the Nxf2 Stampede, Study 12: 6.Nd2? — f2 Collapses
• Chapter 4: Sidesteps — 5.Bc4 and 5.f3
  Lines: Study 13: 5.Bc4 Bc5! — the Ng4 Ambush, Study 14: 5.Bc4 — When White Defends with 7.Qf3, Study 15: 5.f3 — Nh5! and the Rook Falls
• Chapter 5: Declined Early — 3.d4 and 3.Nc3
  Lines: Study 16: The 3.d4 Decline, Study 17: 3.Nc3 — the Fork Trick, Study 18: The Fork Trick — Punishing 6.Bxd5, Study 19: The Fork Trick, Greedy Version, Study 20: 7.Neg5+ — the Check That Achieves Nothing, Study 21: 7.Nc3 — the Pawns Roll Anyway
• Chapter 6: When White Defends Correctly
  Lines: Study 22: The Critical 7.c3, Study 23: The Critical 7.Be3

Free sample: the main line, move by move

• 1. e4 — 1.e4.
• 1... e5 — 1...e5.
• 2. Nf3 — 2.Nf3.
• 2... Nf6 — 2...Nf6 — the Petrov move order. White almost always takes.
• 3. Nxe5 — 3.Nxe5 — and here it comes.
• 3... Nc6 — 3...Nc6!? — the Stafford Gambit! Instead of the boring 3...d6, Black offers a knight trade that poisons the whole position. Objectively White is better; practically, White's most natural moves now lose.
• 4. Nxc6 — 4.Nxc6 — nearly universal.
• 4... dxc6 — 4...dxc6 — the right recapture: the d-file opens for the queen, the c8 bishop breathes, and Black's development advantage begins. One pawn is a fair price.
• 5. d3 — 5.d3 — solid and the most common: White guards e4 and plans Be2.
• 5... Bc5 — 5...Bc5 — the bishop takes the gambit's signature diagonal, glaring at f2. Every Stafford trap flows through this bishop.
• 6. Bg5 — 6.Bg5?? — the fatal 'pin'. It looks completely natural — develop with tempo, pin the knight — and it loses by force. The knight was never pinned...
• 6... Nxe4 — 6...Nxe4!! — the thunderbolt. The knight takes anyway, offering the queen. Now 7.dxe4?? Bxf2+! wins the White queen, and taking on d8 is even worse...
• 7. Bxd8 — 7.Bxd8?? — 'oh no, my queen!' White wins the queen — and gets mated in two moves.
• 7... Bxf2+ — 7...Bxf2+! — the first check. The king has exactly one legal square.
• 8. Ke2 — 8.Ke2 — the only legal square. 8.Kxf2?? is not even legal (the e4 knight guards f2), d1 is blocked by White's own queen and f1 by White's own bishop.
• 8... Bg4# — 8...Bg4# — CHECKMATE. Count the king's options: d2 and f2 belong to the e4 knight, e1 and e3 to the f2 bishop, f3 to the g4 bishop, and d1/f1 are occupied by White's own queen and bishop. Nothing captures on g4 either — the d1 queen's diagonal runs straight into her own king on e2. A full queen sacrifice, repaid with mate on move 8 — the most satisfying trap in modern chess.

Learn the Stafford Gambit — start your 7-day free trial →