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Final position — Black is winning

Evans Gambit

Evans Gambit: Wins a Pawn

Black wins in 9 moves with a decisive material gain. (Wall - Shameson, Mountain View, CA 1986)

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Bc5 6.O-O Nf6 7.d4 Bb6 8.dxe5 Nxe4 9.Qd5
1.e4e5
2.Nf3Nc6
3.Bc4Bc5
4.b4Bxb4
5.c3Bc5
6.O-ONf6
7.d4Bb6
8.dxe5Nxe4
9.Qd5

How the Evans Gambit: Wins a Pawn works

The Evans Gambit: Wins a Pawn is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Evans Gambit. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 9, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Bc5 6.O-O Nf6 7.d4 Bb6 8.dxe5 Nxe4 9.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.

This pattern is well known from master and correspondence play (Wall - Shameson, Mountain View, CA 1986). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Evans Gambit: 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.

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