Final position — White is winning
King's Pawn Game: Opening Trap (Kahn–Masschaele)
White wins in 9 moves with a decisive material gain. (Kahn - Masschaele, Postal 1988)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | c3 | Nf6 |
| 4. | d4 | Nxe4 |
| 5. | d5 | Nb8 |
| 6. | Nxe5 | Bc5 |
| 7. | Nd3 | Bb6 |
| 8. | Be2 | d6 |
| 9. | Qa4+ |
How the King's Pawn Game: Opening Trap (Kahn–Masschaele) works
The King's Pawn Game: Opening Trap (Kahn–Masschaele) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the King's pawn game. In this line White wins decisive material by move 9, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6 4.d4 Nxe4 5.d5 Nb8 6.Nxe5 Bc5 7.Nd3 Bb6 8.Be2 d6 9.Qa4+. 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 (Kahn - Masschaele, Postal 1988). 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 (Kahn–Masschaele) 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.