Final position — White is winning
Richter-Veresov Attack: Opening Trap
White wins in 9 moves with a decisive material gain. (Wade - Kincel, 1962)
The moves
| 1. | d4 | d5 |
| 2. | Nc3 | Nf6 |
| 3. | Bg5 | c6 |
| 4. | Bxf6 | gxf6 |
| 5. | e3 | e5 |
| 6. | Qh5 | e4 |
| 7. | f3 | f5 |
| 8. | fxe4 | fxe4 |
| 9. | Qe5+ |
How the Richter-Veresov Attack: Opening Trap works
The Richter-Veresov Attack: Opening Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Richter-Veresov Attack. In this line White wins decisive material by move 9, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bg5 c6 4.Bxf6 gxf6 5.e3 e5 6.Qh5 e4 7.f3 f5 8.fxe4 fxe4 9.Qe5+. 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 (Wade - Kincel, 1962). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Richter-Veresov Attack: 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.