Final position — Black is winning
Petrov's Defence: Opening Trap
Black wins in 6 moves with a decisive material gain. (Malloy - Powell, 1995.??.??)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nf6 |
| 3. | Bb5 | c6 |
| 4. | Bc4 | Nxe4 |
| 5. | d3 | Nf6 |
| 6. | Nxe5 | Qa5+ |
How the Petrov's Defence: Opening Trap works
The Petrov's Defence: Opening Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Petrov's defence. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 6, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bb5 c6 4.Bc4 Nxe4 5.d3 Nf6 6.Nxe5 Qa5+. 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 (Malloy - Powell, 1995.??.??). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Petrov's Defence: Opening 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.