Final position — White is winning
Wins the Exchange
White wins in 9 moves with a decisive material gain. (Wall - Puke, Internet 1996)
The moves
| 1. | g4 | d5 |
| 2. | Bg2 | Bxg4 |
| 3. | c4 | e6 |
| 4. | cxd5 | exd5 |
| 5. | Qb3 | Nf6 |
| 6. | Qxb7 | Ne4 |
| 7. | Qxa8 | Bc5 |
| 8. | Bxe4 | dxe4 |
| 9. | Qxe4+ |
How the Wins the Exchange works
The Wins the Exchange is a classic chess opening trap. In this line White wins decisive material by move 9, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.g4 d5 2.Bg2 Bxg4 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Qb3 Nf6 6.Qxb7 Ne4 7.Qxa8 Bc5 8.Bxe4 dxe4 9.Qxe4+. 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 (Wall - Puke, Internet 1996). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Wins the Exchange 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.