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Final position — White is winning

King's gambit

King's Gambit: Wins a Pawn (Fischer–Jones)

White wins in 8 moves with a decisive material gain. (Fischer - Jones, Detroit 1964)

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.f4 f6 3.fxe5 Nc6 4.d4 Be7 5.exf6 gxf6 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Bc4 Qe8 8.Bh6+
1.e4e5
2.f4f6
3.fxe5Nc6
4.d4Be7
5.exf6gxf6
6.Qh5+Kf8
7.Bc4Qe8
8.Bh6+

How the King's Gambit: Wins a Pawn (Fischer–Jones) works

The King's Gambit: Wins a Pawn (Fischer–Jones) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the King's gambit. 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.f4 f6 3.fxe5 Nc6 4.d4 Be7 5.exf6 gxf6 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Bc4 Qe8 8.Bh6+. 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 (Fischer - Jones, Detroit 1964). 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 (Fischer–Jones) 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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