Final position — Black is winning
Reti Opening: Wins a Pawn
Black wins in 6 moves with a decisive material gain. (Zaitsik - Zichulidze, 1976.??.??)
The moves
| 1. | Nf3 | d5 |
| 2. | c4 | Nf6 |
| 3. | g3 | Bf5 |
| 4. | cxd5 | Nxd5 |
| 5. | e4 | Bxe4 |
| 6. | Qa4+ |
How the Reti Opening: Wins a Pawn works
The Reti Opening: Wins a Pawn is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Reti Opening. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 6, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 Bf5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Bxe4 6.Qa4+. Each move looks reasonable, which is exactly why the trap is so effective over the board — White walks into it while trying to play "normal" developing moves.
This pattern is well known from master and correspondence play (Zaitsik - Zichulidze, 1976.??.??). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Reti Opening: Wins a Pawn 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.