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Final position — White is winning

Scandinavian Defence

Scandinavian Defence: Opening Trap #2

White wins in 7 moves with a decisive material gain. (Wall, Bill - Lovegren, R., 1980.??.??)

The moves

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qe5+ 4.Be2 Bg4 5.f3 Bh5 6.Nb5 e6 7.d4
1.e4d5
2.exd5Qxd5
3.Nc3Qe5+
4.Be2Bg4
5.f3Bh5
6.Nb5e6
7.d4

How the Scandinavian Defence: Opening Trap #2 works

The Scandinavian Defence: Opening Trap #2 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 Qe5+ 4.Be2 Bg4 5.f3 Bh5 6.Nb5 e6 7.d4. 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, Bill - Lovegren, R., 1980.??.??). 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: Opening Trap #2 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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