Final position — White is winning
King's Pawn Opening: Knight Fork
White wins in 7 moves with a decisive material gain. (Roberts - Wall, South Carolina 1970)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | b6 |
| 2. | Bc4 | Bb7 |
| 3. | Qf3 | e6 |
| 4. | d4 | Nc6 |
| 5. | d5 | Nd4 |
| 6. | Qc3 | Bb4 |
| 7. | Qxb4 | Nxc2+ |
How the King's Pawn Opening: Knight Fork works
The King's Pawn Opening: Knight Fork is a classic chess opening trap arising from the King's pawn opening. In this line White wins decisive material by move 7, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 b6 2.Bc4 Bb7 3.Qf3 e6 4.d4 Nc6 5.d5 Nd4 6.Qc3 Bb4 7.Qxb4 Nxc2+. 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 (Roberts - Wall, South Carolina 1970). 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 Pawn Opening: Knight Fork 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.