Final position — White is winning
Traxler Counterattack Trap
White wins in 13 moves with a decisive material gain.
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bc4 | Nf6 |
| 4. | Ng5 | Bc5 |
| 5. | Nxf7 | Bxf2+ |
| 6. | Kf1 | Qe7 |
| 7. | Nxh8 | d5 |
| 8. | exd5 | Nd4 |
| 9. | c3 | Bg4 |
| 10. | Qa4+ | Nd7 |
| 11. | Kxf2 | Qf6+ |
| 12. | Ke1 | Qh4+ |
| 13. | Kf1 | O-O-O |
How the Traxler Counterattack Trap works
The Traxler Counterattack Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Two Knights Defence. In this line White wins decisive material by move 13, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kf1 Qe7 7.Nxh8 d5 8.exd5 Nd4 9.c3 Bg4 10.Qa4+ Nd7 11.Kxf2 Qf6+ 12.Ke1 Qh4+ 13.Kf1 O-O-O. 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.
Recognising this pattern early lets you either spring it as White or calmly sidestep it when you are Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Traxler Counterattack 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.