Final position — Black is winning
King's Gambit: Opening Trap (Bowlby–Cooledge)
Black wins in 7 moves with a decisive material gain. (Bowlby - Cooledge, 1979)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | f4 | d5 |
| 3. | exd5 | e4 |
| 4. | d3 | Nf6 |
| 5. | Nd2 | exd3 |
| 6. | Bxd3 | Nxd5 |
| 7. | Ne2 | Ne3 |
How the King's Gambit: Opening Trap (Bowlby–Cooledge) works
The King's Gambit: Opening Trap (Bowlby–Cooledge) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the King's gambit. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 7, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.f4 d5 3.exd5 e4 4.d3 Nf6 5.Nd2 exd3 6.Bxd3 Nxd5 7.Ne2 Ne3. 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 (Bowlby - Cooledge, 1979). 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 (Bowlby–Cooledge) 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.