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Final position — White is winning

King's gambit

King's Gambit: Wins a Pawn (CobaltBlue–Wall)

White wins in 11 moves with a decisive material gain. (CobaltBlue - Wall, Internet 1996)

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.f4 d5 3.exd5 e4 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.d3 Bb4 6.Bd2 O-O 7.dxe4 Re8 8.Bd3 Bxc3 9.Bxc3 Nxe4 10.Bxe4 Rxe4+ 11.Ne2 Bg4
1.e4e5
2.f4d5
3.exd5e4
4.Nc3Nf6
5.d3Bb4
6.Bd2O-O
7.dxe4Re8
8.Bd3Bxc3
9.Bxc3Nxe4
10.Bxe4Rxe4+
11.Ne2Bg4

How the King's Gambit: Wins a Pawn (CobaltBlue–Wall) works

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

The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.f4 d5 3.exd5 e4 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.d3 Bb4 6.Bd2 O-O 7.dxe4 Re8 8.Bd3 Bxc3 9.Bxc3 Nxe4 10.Bxe4 Rxe4+ 11.Ne2 Bg4. 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 (CobaltBlue - Wall, 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 King's Gambit: Wins a Pawn (CobaltBlue–Wall) 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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