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Final position — White is winning

King's pawn game

King's Pawn Game: Wins the Exchange

White wins in 6 moves with a decisive material gain. (Wall - Kay, Internet 1996)

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.d4 f6 3.dxe5 fxe5 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qxe5+ Ne7 6.Qxh8
1.e4e5
2.d4f6
3.dxe5fxe5
4.Qh5+g6
5.Qxe5+Ne7
6.Qxh8

How the King's Pawn Game: Wins the Exchange works

The King's Pawn Game: Wins the Exchange is a classic chess opening trap arising from the King's pawn game. In this line White wins decisive material by move 6, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.d4 f6 3.dxe5 fxe5 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qxe5+ Ne7 6.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 - Kay, 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 King's Pawn Game: 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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