Day 3 of 30 days 30 Chess Traps! Day 3, the Légal trap. The Légal Trap (or Blackburne Trap/Mate) is a famous chess opening trap, often arising from the Italian Game or Philidor Defense, where White sacrifices their Queen for a devastating checkmate using three minor pieces (Knights and Bishops) if Black greedily captures the Queen, teaching a lesson about development and pins. It's named after French master Sire de Légal and popularized by Joseph Blackburne, relying on Black's premature pin of W