Meadow Hay Trap
- 1.a4e5
- 2.Ra3
1,190 games
A beginner's blunder in the Ware Opening: after 1. a4 e5, the rook lift 2. Ra3 walks into 2...Bxa3 and loses the exchange at once.
Train it in TheoriaAbout the Meadow Hay Trap
The Meadow Hay Trap, also called the Meadow Hay Mistake or the Banned Gambit, is less a trap than a self-inflicted one: the rook lift 2. Ra3 ignores the f8-a3 diagonal opened by 1...e5, and 2...Bxa3 wins the exchange. Recapturing with 3. bxa3 damages White's queenside pawns, while 3. Nxa3 strands the knight on the rim. Capturing is by far the most common reply, and engines give Black a large advantage.