Final position — White is winning
King's Pawn Game: Opening Trap (Sturrell–Unknown)
White wins in 7 moves with a decisive material gain. (Sturrell - Unknown, Boras 1956)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | c3 | d5 |
| 4. | Qa4 | dxe4 |
| 5. | Nxe5 | Qd5 |
| 6. | Nxc6 | Qxc6 |
| 7. | Bb5 |
How the King's Pawn Game: Opening Trap (Sturrell–Unknown) works
The King's Pawn Game: Opening Trap (Sturrell–Unknown) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the King's pawn game. 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 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 d5 4.Qa4 dxe4 5.Nxe5 Qd5 6.Nxc6 Qxc6 7.Bb5. 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 (Sturrell - Unknown, Boras 1956). 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 Game: Opening Trap (Sturrell–Unknown) 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.