Legal Trap
chess opening trap involving White’s queen sacrifice followed by checkmate with minor pieces if Black accepts the sacrifice
The Legal Trap or Blackburne Trap (also known as Legal Mate) is a chess opening trap, characterized by a queen sacrifice followed by checkmate involving three minor pieces if Black accepts the sacrifice. The trap is named after the French player Sire de Legall. Joseph Henry Blackburne, a British master and one of the world's top five players in the latter part of the 19th century, set the trap on many occasions.
Natural move sequence
There are a number of ways the trap can arise; the one below shows a natural move sequence from a simultaneous exhibition in Paris. André Cheron, one of France's leading players, won with the trap as White against Jeanlose:
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 d6
The Semi-Italian Opening.
4. Nc3 Bg4?!
The public source identifies “Legal Trap” as chess opening trap involving White’s queen sacrifice followed by checkmate with minor pieces if Black accepts the sacrifice. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Legal, Trap and chess.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Legal Trap”, the useful work is to connect “chess opening trap involving White’s queen sacrifice followed by checkmate with minor pieces if Black accepts the sacrifice” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1134278. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Legal Trap”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Legal Trap primary sources, Legal Trap archive and Legal research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Legal Trap”?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Legal Trap” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.