Final position — White is winning
Four Knights, Scotch Variation: Opening Trap (Colias–Ronco)
White wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain. (Colias - Ronco, Illinois 1987)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Nc3 | Nf6 |
| 4. | d4 | exd4 |
| 5. | Nxd4 | Bc5 |
| 6. | Be3 | Nxd4 |
| 7. | Bxd4 | Qe7 |
| 8. | Be2 | O-O |
| 9. | e5 | Ne8 |
| 10. | Nd5 |
How the Four Knights, Scotch Variation: Opening Trap (Colias–Ronco) works
The Four Knights, Scotch Variation: Opening Trap (Colias–Ronco) 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 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bc5 6.Be3 Nxd4 7.Bxd4 Qe7 8.Be2 O-O 9.e5 Ne8 10.Nd5. 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 (Colias - Ronco, Illinois 1987). 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 (Colias–Ronco) 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.