@suzianne said
And then there's this, from Reddit r/chess:
Just to clarify, I’m not amazing at chess (1200 rapid chess.com) but I think I’m qualified to say this.
I’ve noticed a lot of beginners flock towards certain trap openings, which are bad with perfect play but often incite the opponent to make game-losing mistakes. The Stafford gambit, Englund gambit, Tennison gambit, etc ...[text shortened]... ould get into the habit of playing legitimate openings and assuming perfect play from your opponent.
>> The Stafford gambit, Englund gambit, Tennison gambit, etc come to mind. It makes sense that beginners are attracted to them. They’re different, fun to play,
## Isn't that what it's all about? Having fun!
>> Regardless, if you want to genuinely improve, you should not be playing these openings.
## I’m not into improving, I’m into WINNING! And those traps work great for that!
>> If he falls into the trap, you win. If he doesn’t, you have an unenviable position, and have a high likelihood of losing the game.
## That holds true for instance for the Englund gambit. With about all the other traps if the enemy doesn't fall for it, I come out just fine.
>> Additionally, when you win because your opponent fell into a trap, it can hardly be claimed that you won because you played better than your opponent. Instead, you won because you had memorized a line that your opponent didn’t.
## And what is wrong with winning because you had memorized a line that your opponent didn’t?
As Sun Tzu says in his "The Art of War": "There is equal praise for somebody who wins through deceit as for him who wins by strength."
>> This means that a game won through an opening trap is a game whose learning potential was squandered.
## The fact of the matter is that the tactical tricks I learn from traps I often can use in totally different openings and positions. Traps make me a better chess player.
>> If you want to improve, you should get into the habit of playing legitimate openings and assuming perfect play from your opponent.
## Improving is useless. I’m never going to be a master, never a grandmaster, never the world champion. However, the traps give me the possibility to once in while brutally take down somebody who is much stronger than me.
And that is fun! And that’s why I play chess, not to improve, but in order to have fun.
And winning miniatures because of traps, that is FUN!
I once had a colleague who couldn't play chess, and I taught him chess. And then I said to him, "You should buy this book": https://tinyurl.com/schaakhandboek (chess handbook)
He bought that book, and I told him which sections and which traps to study.
One Monday he comes to me and said, "I played against my cousin over the weekend, and I caught him in that and that trap. It's so tremendously funny when you see someone get caught in a trap!"
And that's just the way it is.
Tim Krabbe, a Dutch chess player, writes on his homepage when talking about a trap: "Amazing what fun it is to win a game where you haven't played chess."
https://tinyurl.com/platy-pus
And so it is. You keep on laughing when you see someone fall into a trap.
"Winning a short game is a particularly enjoyable experience"
H. Bouwmeester, in his book "Schaakboek 11, 100 miniatuurpartijen" (Chess Book 11, 100 miniature games) https://tinyurl.com/Bouw-boek
Hans Bouwmeester was shared first in a Hoogovens tournament: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Bouwmeester_(chessplayer) (Dutch)
Chess is not about improving, it is about WINNING!
https://tinyurl.com/only-winning