Final position — Black is winning
Scandinavian Defence: Wins a Pawn
Black wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain. (Xfile - Wall, Internet 1997)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | d5 |
| 2. | exd5 | Nf6 |
| 3. | Nc3 | e6 |
| 4. | dxe6 | Bxe6 |
| 5. | d4 | Bb4 |
| 6. | Nf3 | O-O |
| 7. | Bd2 | Re8 |
| 8. | Ng5 | Bxc3 |
| 9. | Bxc3 | Bg4+ |
| 10. | Be2 | Rxe2+ |
How the Scandinavian Defence: Wins a Pawn works
The Scandinavian Defence: Wins a Pawn 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 Nf6 3.Nc3 e6 4.dxe6 Bxe6 5.d4 Bb4 6.Nf3 O-O 7.Bd2 Re8 8.Ng5 Bxc3 9.Bxc3 Bg4+ 10.Be2 Rxe2+. 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 (Xfile - Wall, Internet 1997). 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: Wins a Pawn 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.