Final position — White is winning
Four Knights, Scotch Variation: Opening Trap
White wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain. (Tarrasch - Simonson, Berlin 1887)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Nc3 | Nf6 |
| 4. | d4 | Bb4 |
| 5. | d5 | Ne7 |
| 6. | Nxe5 | Nxe4 |
| 7. | Qd4 | Bxc3+ |
| 8. | bxc3 | Nf6 |
| 9. | Bg5 | Ng6 |
| 10. | Ng4 |
How the Four Knights, Scotch Variation: Opening Trap works
The Four Knights, Scotch Variation: Opening Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Four Knights, Scotch Variation. In this line White wins decisive material by move 10, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 Bb4 5.d5 Ne7 6.Nxe5 Nxe4 7.Qd4 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 Nf6 9.Bg5 Ng6 10.Ng4. 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 (Tarrasch - Simonson, Berlin 1887). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Four Knights, Scotch Variation: 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.