Final position — White is winning
Italian Game: Opening Trap (Funston–Sullivan)
White wins in 8 moves with a decisive material gain. (Funston - Sullivan, Ohio 1977)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bc4 | Be7 |
| 4. | d4 | exd4 |
| 5. | Nxd4 | Nxd4 |
| 6. | Qxd4 | Nf6 |
| 7. | e5 | c5 |
| 8. | Qf4 |
How the Italian Game: Opening Trap (Funston–Sullivan) works
The Italian Game: Opening Trap (Funston–Sullivan) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Italian Game. In this line White wins decisive material by move 8, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Be7 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Nxd4 6.Qxd4 Nf6 7.e5 c5 8.Qf4. 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 (Funston - Sullivan, Ohio 1977). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Italian Game: Opening Trap (Funston–Sullivan) 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.