C65 · Opening trap · Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense
Mortimer Trap
The Mortimer Trap: in the Berlin Defense Black plays the odd 4...Ne7 and lets White take on e5. After 5.Nxe5? c6 White loses a piece to ...Qa5+.
Set byBlack
Losing move5.Nxe5? → 5...c6!
4...Ne7 looks like a beginner's move: it blocks the bishop and leaves e5 hanging. The pawn is bait. Named after James Mortimer, who played it in London in 1883.
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How the Mortimer Trap works
Click a card to see it on the board, then play the punishment yourself.
How often does it work?
Counted in real rated Lichess games, not estimated.
Among players rated 1800 and higher, 5.Nxe5? was played in 2,164 of the games our puzzles are drawn from. Strong players fall for it too.
How to avoid the Mortimer Trap
What White should play instead.
Now spot it in a real game
Knowing a trap by name is not the same as seeing it at the board. Solve positions from real games until the pattern fires by itself.
Mortimer Trap
Getting there…After 5.Nxe5 c6! the bishop has to move, and then 6...Qa5+ is a check that also attacks the knight on e5. The tricky 6.Nc4, threatening mate on d6, is met by 6...d6 7.Ba4 b5 with a fork. White's best is to give the piece back for two pawns with 6.Nxf7.