Final position — White is winning
Centre Game: Opening Trap
White wins in 9 moves with a decisive material gain. (Smith - Cohn, Hanover 1902)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | d4 | exd4 |
| 3. | c3 | d5 |
| 4. | exd5 | Qxd5 |
| 5. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 6. | Nxd4 | Nxd4 |
| 7. | cxd4 | Nf6 |
| 8. | Nc3 | Bb4 |
| 9. | Qa4+ |
How the Centre Game: Opening Trap works
The Centre Game: Opening Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Centre Game. In this line White wins decisive material by move 9, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Nxd4 Nxd4 7.cxd4 Nf6 8.Nc3 Bb4 9.Qa4+. 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 (Smith - Cohn, Hanover 1902). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Centre Game: Opening Trap 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.