Learn the Traxler Counterattack

C57 · a repertoire for black · 4 chapters · 21 annotated lines

"They attack f7. You ignore it."

The Traxler Counterattack (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5!?) is the most defiant reply in chess: White attacks f7 with the dreaded Fried Liver knight, and Black simply ignores it and aims at f2 instead. If White grabs the fork with 5.Nxf7, the bishop detonates with 5...Bxf2+! and after 6.Kxf2 Nxe4+ modern engines confirm White is already fighting for a draw — while every natural king move walks into mate, a lost queen, or a lost rook. Every line here is engine-verified: you'll know exactly which White moves lose by force, and exactly what you get when they don't.

What's inside

• Chapter 1: The Full Accept — 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kxf2
  Lines: Study 1: The Classic Crush — 7.Kg1 Qh4!, Study 2: 7.Kf1 — The Poisoned Rook, Study 3: 7.Kf1 Qh4! 8.Qe1 — Beat the Best Defense
• Chapter 2: 6.Kf1, 5.Bxf7+ and the Declines
  Lines: Study 4: The Sneaky 6.Kf1 — Meet It with 6...Qe7!, Study 5: 5.Bxf7+ Ke7! — The Slow Roast, Study 6: 5.d4 — Strike Back with 5...d5!
• Chapter 3: The Accept, Part II — Wandering Kings & Machine Defenses
  Lines: Study 7: 7.Ke2 — The Knight Joins with Tempo, Study 8: 7.Ke3 — The Machine King Walk, Study 9: 7.Kf1 Qh4 8.Qf3 — The Other Bodyguard, Study 10: The Machine Defense 9.Nxh8 — A Draw in Hand, Study 11: 7.Ke1 — Straight Back Into ...Qh4+
• Chapter 4: The Quiet Declines — 5.O-O, 5.Nc3 & the Retreat Roads
  Lines: Study 12: 5.O-O — Castle and Counter with ...d5, Study 13: 5.Nc3 — The d4 Outpost, Study 14: 5.Bxf7+ Ke7 6.Bd5 — Same Roast, New Pan, Study 15: 5.d4 d5 6.exd5 — The Knight Recapture, Study 16: 5.Nc3 O-O 6.O-O — The ...d5 Fork Trick, Study 17: 5.Nc3 O-O 6.Nxf7? — Two Pieces for the Rook

Free sample: the main line, move by move

• 1. e4 — 1.e4.
• 1... e5 — 1...e5.
• 2. Nf3 — 2.Nf3.
• 2... Nc6 — 2...Nc6.
• 3. Bc4 — 3.Bc4 — the Italian bishop, eyeing f7.
• 3... Nf6 — 3...Nf6 — the Two Knights Defense: develop and counterattack e4.
• 4. Ng5 — 4.Ng5 — the Fried Liver lunge: knight and bishop double up on f7, and 'defend with 4...d5' is what everyone expects...
• 4... Bc5 — 4...Bc5!? — the TRAXLER COUNTERATTACK. Black looks at the double attack on f7 and simply develops, aiming this bishop at f2 — the mirror-image weak point. If White takes the bait, the board catches fire.
• 5. Nxf7 — 5.Nxf7 — the greedy fork: queen and rook attacked. Nearly every club player grabs this. Now the point of Black's 4th move appears...
• 5... Bxf2+ — 5...Bxf2+! — the counter-fork! Ignore your queen and rook — Black rips open the White king first. This bishop cannot be declined cheaply: 6.Kf1 runs into 6...Qe7! (see Chapter 2).
• 6. Kxf2 — 6.Kxf2 — the full accept, and the most human move: take the piece.
• 6... Nxe4+ — 6...Nxe4+! — the second hammer, with check. The knight eats the center pawn and forks the king with threats on g3 and d2. Modern engines already call this position EQUAL at best for White — the fork on f7 bought a world of pain.
• 7. Kg1 — 7.Kg1 — tucking the king away: by far the most natural retreat. But safety is an illusion here — White now needs a single ice-cold computer defense to survive what's coming.
• 7... Qh4 — 7...Qh4! — so what if the f7 knight forks the queen and rook? The queen threatens mate on f2, supported by the e4 knight. White must stop it this instant.
• 8. g3 — 8.g3 — the natural block, attacking the queen. (The engine's only path to balance is the ugly 9.Nxh8 after this — watch what happens when White plays chess like a human instead.)
• 8... Nxg3 — 8...Nxg3! — take anyway! The knight is immune in spirit: White's kingside cover is being dismantled piece by piece, and both recaptures have poison in them.
• 9. hxg3 — 9.hxg3 — recapturing and opening the h-file... for Black's benefit.
• 9... Qxg3+ — 9...Qxg3+ — the queen crashes through. White's king has one square.
• 10. Kf1 — 10.Kf1 — forced.
• 10... Rf8 — 10...Rf8 — the classic Traxler tabiya: rook to the open f-file, pinning the f7 knight to the naked king. Count the material honestly: White is two minor pieces up, you have three extra pawns — and the engine still calls it dead level, 0.00. Look at why: White's kingside pawns are all gone, the whole queenside sits untouched on its starting squares, and only the ice-cold 11.Nc3! (anything else and Black is winning) keeps White alive. At club level this position scores overwhelmingly for Black. This is what the Traxler buys you when White plays natural moves.

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