Final position — White is winning
King's Pawn Game: Knight Fork
White wins in 12 moves with a decisive material gain. (Mouillaux - Matisson, 1985.??.??)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Ne2 | Nf6 |
| 3. | f4 | Nxe4 |
| 4. | d3 | Nc5 |
| 5. | fxe5 | Nc6 |
| 6. | d4 | Qh4+ |
| 7. | g3 | Qe4 |
| 8. | Rg1 | Nxd4 |
| 9. | Qxd4 | Qxc2 |
| 10. | Nf4 | Qxc1+ |
| 11. | Ke2 | Nb3 |
| 12. | axb3 | Bc5 |
How the King's Pawn Game: Knight Fork works
The King's Pawn Game: Knight Fork is a classic chess opening trap arising from the King's pawn game. In this line White wins decisive material by move 12, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Ne2 Nf6 3.f4 Nxe4 4.d3 Nc5 5.fxe5 Nc6 6.d4 Qh4+ 7.g3 Qe4 8.Rg1 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 Qxc2 10.Nf4 Qxc1+ 11.Ke2 Nb3 12.axb3 Bc5. 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 (Mouillaux - Matisson, 1985.??.??). 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: 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.