The Fishing Pole is a
chess openingtrap most common in the
Ruy Lopez (especially in the
Berlin Defence and
Exchange Variations), however, the trap can be used in any opening or in the middle of the game. Its broadest definition is a move that sacrifices a knight or bishop on the g-file to open up the h-file, after the opponent king has short castled and before you have short castled.[1][2][3]
Exchange Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6
Black takes with 4...dxc6 to open the diagonal for the bishop but doubled their pawns, weakening their position in the end game.
Black pins the knight to the queen by playing 5... Bg4. White tries to kick the bishop back by playing 6. h3 but Black plays 6... h5!. This move gives the Fishing Pole its name. The Black bishop on the g4 square is the bait and the h5 pawn is the hook.
7. hxg4?? hxg4
A
blunder. White should have played 7. d3 instead, allowing them to block the queen from moving to 9... Qh4 with 9. Ng5 after 8. hxg4. After 7... hxg4 White will likely make one of two possible
blunders:
8. Nxe5?? Qh4! 9. f4 g3 10. Qh5 Rxh5 11. Rf3 Qh1#
After taking the e5 pawn White is 3 points up of material but checkmate is now inevitable in 4 or less moves after 8... Qh4!.
While this
blunder avoids checkmate it does lead to the loss of a knight and two pawns while the White king is left exposed after walking to the queenside of the board.
The most common reply to the Berlin Defense. The king is protected by moving it to the corner and the rook prepares to be moved to e1 square if the knight takes e4.
4... Ng4?? 5. h3
A
blunder as the knight is moved away from the center and after 5. h3 it will be kicked back to the f6 square leading to a lost
tempo giving the White knight the chance to take the e5 pawn with the line 5... Nf6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. Nxe5.