Bullet Tricks #2 - Stalemate Tricks

Introduction

In a previous blog post, I commenced this series of Bullet Tricks by discussing a bullet trick in the opening revolving around the 'Lefong' trap. If you have not read that, do so before coming to this one. This is the second of tricks that I will be covering.

Oftentimes, in losing positions, we try to find ways to swindle and escape with a draw, if not a win. This is often very difficult, and many factors have to be to your advantage to even have a chance of accomplishing such a swindle. In bullet chess, the clock is a very crucial tool that can be in your favour, especially if your opponent is very low on time.

Most of our resources of trying to save a lost endgame involve stalemate tricks, which is what this blog post will be all about. The main stalemate tricks that work in online bullet chess have to do with what is known as the Rosen trap.

The Rosen Trap - created by IM Eric Rosen

International Master Eric Rosen is a famous content creator, and he is well known for his 'Rosen Trap,' revolving around his strategy to get stalemated in a losing position. Such stalemate tricks have been used successfully by Rosen in over 400 games combined on lichess and chess.com, according to the Rosen score website created by Jack Li (see my previous blog post regarding that).

To illustrate how the trap works, I will present the following position.

This position is white to move, and for illustrative purposes let's suppose black has only a few seconds on the clock, with no increment. White obviously wants to queen his f pawn to try and at least save the game, and so they push f7.

Now, especially when the player with the black pieces is in low time, they will try to simplify the position to get a more advantageous position. And so, they will sacrifice the queen by taking on f7. They reason that after the king recaptures on f7, they can push the black pawn to a2 and then queen with a1, and then premove to win. And so, going solely by this assumption, they take on f7 and premove a2.

The Trap in Action

Now, what IM Eric Rosen was able to do in over 400 games was he was able to psychology outsmart their opponent. If he took the pawn on f7, he would be losing anyway with a2 and a1, and so he went for a trick. He played Kh8!? - instead of taking the queen, he is heading for the corner. Now, with this position, the black queen is still on f7, and the king is on h8 --- essentially, without any moves. Now, Rosen's opponents would have a2 premoved, and this would result in a stalemate draw.

The trap works like this because a2 is premoved by black, essentially being played no matter how white responds to Qxf7+. Had black not premoved and spent a split second more, they probably would have sidestepped with the queen to e7 and then premove a2 and a1, swiftly mating the white queen this way. As a result, even in 1 minute bullet chess, this trick is highly unlikely to work over the board, and even with increment this would not be very likely. However, in 1+0 chess, if you ever get a chance like this, do give it a try.

This trap was also used successfully by GM Daniel Naroditsky against GM Magnus Carlsen in a separate bullet match, for which there is a famous video by Rosen, giving his reaction to the moment. In addition, Rosen was able to trick GM Hikaru Nakamura in an online choker match during the 2020 Choker Cup Grand Finals, for which you can watch the full streams of Rosen and Nakamura, with both of their reactions as well.

Conclusion

This is one of the most common stalemate tricks that has been popularised by IM Eric Rosen, and has been used by and against top players. Good luck in your games, and whenever you feel in a lost position, see if you can implement SLP techniques like this and swindle to a draw.