Very Nice..thanks..

very nice  2 go thru.....thanx

aha! Now I see it!

No wonder my tactics rating is so terrible. :)

If Kxf2??, then QxQ free and clear.

On Laskers trap, why 7. ke2

Why didnt he just take the pawn on f2?

Beautiful traps, especially Nimzovich trap(this did happen in 1 of his games I can't remember exactly which one or maybe I'm just imagining things?). Thank you.

I'd spend a good bit of time months ago with the tactics trainer here.  I found the whole experience sort of surreal.  My rating would go through the roof after about 50 problems or so- and you have to answer almost every problem very quickly (or at least that's how is was then) to get such a rise - but then, my rating would drop through the floor, as if I had no idea what I was doing. After several of these pendulum swings, I just gave up on it. I also feel the many reasons given here do apply to the validity (or rather lack of validity) of the tactic trainer as a gauge of tactical skill. 

Thank you everyone for your thoughtful responses. 

I feel a little similar (to normajeanyates) about 'Tactics Trainer' in chess.com.

• The timer is distracting and causing us to hurry with the move ....
  
• I think solving the tactics depend on the knowlegdge of the earlier moves made.. which are not available, in this case.
• Goal of the tactics is unknown.
• Ofcourse, the ratings are going to mislead.

These drawbacks make the tactics trainer more difficult to deal with.

~Chandra~

Very true, the importance of *knowing* the traps.

Whether it is the beginner, or even a non-beginner facing a  line unfamiliar to them; and even more so at skittles[1] (nowadays glorified as blitz, quickchess, and other such rot...) - working out all those opening traps is like re-inventing the wheel. The point is not that re-inventing  the whhel once in a while is not a good thing; the point is that doing it again and again and again is not really being creative... I say, read up old traps and think up new ones - many new opening lines come up most every year: use your creativity to discover traps in them.

Important article on all three counts: chess-skill value, and chess-history value, and they are fun!

[1] Skittles played with the right perspective can help improve one's tactical eye including spotting swindle chances in a hopelessly lost (or drawn) game. My beef with glorification of skittles is "blitz ratings", "blitz world championships [I blame GM V. Anand for making the second official and something people 'strive for' to be good at in itself, and not as a tool for improving tactical vision...]  Chess.com does worse by making public people's 'tactics trainer' ratings: I used to use it  inr various ways like: staring at the board; then lying in bed and trying to solve the problem at hand without looking at the board. And other such things. So my 'tactics trainer' rating was/is of course miserable. Now I've had people making stupid arguments about endgame theory (e.g.) - On my countering them they see they've lost the argument so they look at my 'tactics trainer' 'rating' and my correspomdence-chess rating here - point to the huge difference - suggest I am a cheat.

Result: I do not use the 'tactics trainer' here: I have found better tactical-training resources elsewhere.

Very interesting!

I have been familiar with Max Lange's Trap since the 70's, as it occurs from the Max Lange Attack when Black does not play correctly, which is difficult if one does not know the lines.

I think I like Nimzovich's Trap the best since it leads to a quick.  My second choice is Marshall's Trap.