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Final position — Black is winning

King's gambit

King's Gambit: Opening Trap

Black wins in 11 moves with a decisive material gain. (Budzinsky - Morphy, Paris 1859)

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 d5 4.Bxd5 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.d3 Nxd5 7.exd5 O-O 8.Qf3 Re8+ 9.Nge2 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 Qh4+ 11.g3 Bg4
1.e4e5
2.f4exf4
3.Bc4d5
4.Bxd5Nf6
5.Nc3Bb4
6.d3Nxd5
7.exd5O-O
8.Qf3Re8+
9.Ne2Bxc3+
10.bxc3Qh4+
11.g3Bg4

How the King's Gambit: Opening Trap works

The King's Gambit: Opening Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the King's gambit. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 11, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 d5 4.Bxd5 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.d3 Nxd5 7.exd5 O-O 8.Qf3 Re8+ 9.Nge2 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 Qh4+ 11.g3 Bg4. 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 (Budzinsky - Morphy, Paris 1859). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the King's Gambit: 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.

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