Final position — Black is winning
Italian Game: Opening Trap
Black wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain. (Thompson, David - Wall, Bill, 1972.??.??)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bc4 | Bc5 |
| 4. | O-O | d6 |
| 5. | Nc3 | Bg4 |
| 6. | d3 | Nd4 |
| 7. | Be3 | Nxf3+ |
| 8. | gxf3 | Bh3 |
| 9. | Re1 | Bxe3 |
| 10. | fxe3 | Qg5+ |
How the Italian Game: Opening Trap works
The Italian Game: Opening Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Italian Game. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 10, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O d6 5.Nc3 Bg4 6.d3 Nd4 7.Be3 Nxf3+ 8.gxf3 Bh3 9.Re1 Bxe3 10.fxe3 Qg5+. 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 (Thompson, David - Wall, Bill, 1972.??.??). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Italian Game: 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.