abcdefgh

Final position — White is winning

King's pawn game

King's Pawn Game: Wins a Pawn #2

White wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain. (Wall, Bill - Dphfrn, 1997.??.??)

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.e5 Ne4 6.Qe2 d5 7.exd6 Bf5 8.Nbd2 Bxd6 9.Nxe4 Bxe4 10.Qxe4+
1.e4e5
2.Nf3Nc6
3.c3Nf6
4.d4exd4
5.e5Ne4
6.Qe2d5
7.exd6Bf5
8.Nbd2Bxd6
9.Nxe4Bxe4
10.Qxe4+

How the King's Pawn Game: Wins a Pawn #2 works

The King's Pawn Game: Wins a Pawn #2 is a classic chess opening trap arising from the King's pawn game. In this line White wins decisive material by move 10, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.e5 Ne4 6.Qe2 d5 7.exd6 Bf5 8.Nbd2 Bxd6 9.Nxe4 Bxe4 10.Qxe4+. 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 (Wall, Bill - Dphfrn, 1997.??.??). 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: Wins a Pawn #2 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.

More King's pawn game traps

← Browse all chess traps