Final position — Black is winning
Italian Game: Wins a Pawn
Black wins in 9 moves with a decisive material gain. (Schubert - Herzog, Oostenrijk 1980)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bc4 | Be7 |
| 4. | d4 | exd4 |
| 5. | c3 | Nf6 |
| 6. | e5 | Ne4 |
| 7. | Bd5 | Ng5 |
| 8. | Nxg5 | Bxg5 |
| 9. | Qh5 |
How the Italian Game: Wins a Pawn works
The Italian Game: Wins a Pawn is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Italian Game. 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.Bc4 Be7 4.d4 exd4 5.c3 Nf6 6.e5 Ne4 7.Bd5 Ng5 8.Nxg5 Bxg5 9.Qh5. 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 (Schubert - Herzog, Oostenrijk 1980). 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: 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.