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Final position — White is winning

Vienna Game

Frankenstein-Dracula Trap

White wins in 12 moves with a decisive material gain.

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5 Nd6 5.Bb3 Nc6 6.Nb5 g6 7.Qf3 f5 8.Qd5 Qe7 9.Nxc7+ Kd8 10.Nxa8 b6 11.d3 Bb7 12.h4 f4
1.e4e5
2.Nc3Nf6
3.Bc4Nxe4
4.Qh5Nd6
5.Bb3Nc6
6.Nb5g6
7.Qf3f5
8.Qd5Qe7
9.Nxc7+Kd8
10.Nxa8b6
11.d3Bb7
12.h4f4

How the Frankenstein-Dracula Trap works

The Frankenstein-Dracula Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Vienna Game. In this line White wins decisive material by move 12, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5 Nd6 5.Bb3 Nc6 6.Nb5 g6 7.Qf3 f5 8.Qd5 Qe7 9.Nxc7+ Kd8 10.Nxa8 b6 11.d3 Bb7 12.h4 f4. 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 Frankenstein-Dracula 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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