Final position — Black is winning
Italian Game: Knight Fork
Black wins in 12 moves with a decisive material gain. (Morphy - Schulten, New Orleans 1857)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bc4 | Bc5 |
| 4. | O-O | f5 |
| 5. | d4 | exd4 |
| 6. | e5 | d6 |
| 7. | exd6 | Qxd6 |
| 8. | Re1+ | Nge7 |
| 9. | Ng5 | Ne5 |
| 10. | Bf4 | N7g6 |
| 11. | Bxe5 | Nxe5 |
| 12. | Nf7 |
How the Italian Game: Knight Fork works
The Italian Game: Knight Fork is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Italian Game. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 12, 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 f5 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 d6 7.exd6 Qxd6 8.Re1+ Nge7 9.Ng5 Ne5 10.Bf4 N7g6 11.Bxe5 Nxe5 12.Nf7. 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 (Morphy - Schulten, New Orleans 1857). 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: Knight Fork 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.