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There is nothing more demoralizing than falling into a trap early on in the game. In Gothic Chess,
there are many different traps that lie in wait for the unsuspecting player.
The top position on the left is called the Gothic Dutch Queen Trap, a name which comes from
the "Dutch Defense" in 8x8 chess. The opening pawn moves 1. d4 f5 are not uncommon in the regular chess
world, but on the wider board in Gothic Chess, you have to be more careful about the disposition of your
pawns.
If white continues with 2. Nh3, black cannot push the e-pawn. The reason is, after 2...e6?? white has 3. Bg5!!
which now strikes at the Queen. Black can't take the Bishop since the Knight on h3 defends it. The only way to
save the Queen is to lose either the Archbishop or the Chancellor by playing 3...Af6, 3...Ae7, or 3...Ce7 to block
the path of the Bishop's diagonal strike. White will then trade his own Bishop for whichever piece with which black chooses to
issue the block.
The second position on the left is referred to as the Dual Steed Smother since two Knight-like pieces participate
in this unique checkmating configuration.
Sometimes a player who has fallen for the Gothic Dutch Queen Trap will overreact against the white Bishop after 1. d4
has been played. By pushing the h-pawn once with 1...h6, black can keep the Bishop off of the g5 square, which was the post
from where the black Queen was attacked previously. After 2. Nh3 if black delays freeing his own Queen's Bishop by not
pushing the d-pawn right away, say with 2...Nc6, white can try and bait black into a trap. By deploying the Chancellor with 3. Cf3,
black might look to chase it away with the light-squared Bishop, so 3...d5 would almost always come next. White sets the trap with
a coiling up move, 4. Nf4, which looks completely out of place. If black takes the bait and plays 4...Bg4, striking at the Chancellor
with the Bishop, then 5. Ng6# is checkmate!
Notice black's f-pawn cannot take the Knight, since the Chancellor in the f-file has the aura of a Rook that makes the
capture illegal.
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In regular 8x8 chess, you can play 1. e4 and 2. d4 almost "automatically" without having
to reflect on the consequences of such center pawn pushes. In Gothic Chess, however, you
must be mindful of the extra power a Bishop has, as we have shown with the Gothic Dutch Queen Trap.
In that example, we saw how white's Queen Bishop can be deadly. In this case, black's Queen Bishop
has a similar devastating effect.
You see, the Queen Bishop can also issue what is referred to as a flank check in Gothic Chess. After
1. e4 b6 black sets up to deploy his Bishop to the edge of the wider board. White miscues with 2. d4??
and now 2...Ba6+ forces white to block with a major piece.
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