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Final position — White is winning

Scandinavian Defence

Scandinavian Defence: Wins the Exchange

White wins in 7 moves with a decisive material gain. (Wall - Puke, Internet 1996)

The moves

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd8 4.Bc4 e5 5.Qh5 g6 6.Qxe5+ Ne7 7.Qxh8
1.e4d5
2.exd5Qxd5
3.Nc3Qd8
4.Bc4e5
5.Qh5g6
6.Qxe5+Ne7
7.Qxh8

How the Scandinavian Defence: Wins the Exchange works

The Scandinavian Defence: Wins the Exchange is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Scandinavian Defence. In this line White wins decisive material by move 7, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd8 4.Bc4 e5 5.Qh5 g6 6.Qxe5+ Ne7 7.Qxh8. Each move looks reasonable, which is exactly why the trap is so effective over the board — Black walks into it while trying to play "normal" developing moves.

This pattern is well known from master and correspondence play (Wall - Puke, Internet 1996). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Scandinavian Defence: Wins the Exchange 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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