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Final position — Black is winning

Centre Game

Danish Gambit Trap

Black wins in 8 moves with a decisive material gain.

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 Bb4+ 6.Kf1 Nf6 7.e5 Ne4 8.Qd5
1.e4e5
2.d4exd4
3.c3dxc3
4.Bc4cxb2
5.Bxb2Bb4+
6.Kf1Nf6
7.e5Ne4
8.Qd5

How the Danish Gambit Trap works

The Danish Gambit Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Centre Game. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 8, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 Bb4+ 6.Kf1 Nf6 7.e5 Ne4 8.Qd5. 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.

Recognising this pattern early lets you either spring it as Black or calmly sidestep it when you are White.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Danish Gambit 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.

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