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Final position — Black is winning

Scandinavian Defence

Scandinavian Defence: Knight Fork

Black wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain. (Wiesel - Weigel, 1923.??.??)

The moves

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.h3 Bxf3 6.Qxf3 Nc6 7.Bb5 Qb6 8.Nd5 Qa5 9.b4 Qxb5 10.Nxc7+
1.e4d5
2.exd5Qxd5
3.Nc3Qa5
4.Nf3Bg4
5.h3Bxf3
6.Qxf3Nc6
7.Bb5Qb6
8.Nd5Qa5
9.b4Qxb5
10.Nxc7+

How the Scandinavian Defence: Knight Fork works

The Scandinavian Defence: Knight Fork is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Scandinavian Defence. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 10, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.h3 Bxf3 6.Qxf3 Nc6 7.Bb5 Qb6 8.Nd5 Qa5 9.b4 Qxb5 10.Nxc7+. Each move looks reasonable, which is exactly why the trap is so effective over the board — White walks into it while trying to play "normal" developing moves.

This pattern is well known from master and correspondence play (Wiesel - Weigel, 1923.??.??). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Scandinavian Defence: Knight Fork in the Trapsterapp to play it out on a live board, drill it in practice mode, and learn how to avoid it when it's set for you — along with the full library of chess traps and gambits, fully offline.

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