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Final position — Black is winning

Evans Gambit

Evans Gambit: Wins a Pawn (Kiltti–Meskanen)

Black wins in 9 moves with a decisive material gain. (Kiltti - Meskanen, Helsinki 1996)

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Be7 6.d4 Na5 7.Be2 Nf6 8.dxe5 Nxe4 9.Qa4
1.e4e5
2.Nf3Nc6
3.Bc4Bc5
4.b4Bxb4
5.c3Be7
6.d4Na5
7.Be2Nf6
8.dxe5Nxe4
9.Qa4

How the Evans Gambit: Wins a Pawn (Kiltti–Meskanen) works

The Evans Gambit: Wins a Pawn (Kiltti–Meskanen) 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 Be7 6.d4 Na5 7.Be2 Nf6 8.dxe5 Nxe4 9.Qa4. 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 (Kiltti - Meskanen, Helsinki 1996). 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 (Kiltti–Meskanen) 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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