Final position — Black is winning
Four Knights, Scotch Variation: Wins a Pawn
Black wins in 9 moves with a decisive material gain. (Cavallo - Barreras, Postal 1983)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Nc3 | Nf6 |
| 4. | d4 | exd4 |
| 5. | Nd5 | Nxd5 |
| 6. | exd5 | Nb4 |
| 7. | Bc4 | Qe7+ |
| 8. | Kd2 | g6 |
| 9. | Re1 | Bh6+ |
How the Four Knights, Scotch Variation: Wins a Pawn works
The Four Knights, Scotch Variation: Wins a Pawn is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Four Knights, Scotch Variation. 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.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nd5 Nxd5 6.exd5 Nb4 7.Bc4 Qe7+ 8.Kd2 g6 9.Re1 Bh6+. 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 (Cavallo - Barreras, Postal 1983). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Four Knights, Scotch Variation: 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.