Final position — Black is winning
Reti Opening: Wins a Piece (Ferrell–Wall)
Black wins in 8 moves with a decisive material gain. (Ferrell - Wall, Bill, 1983.??.??)
The moves
| 1. | Nf3 | Nf6 |
| 2. | g3 | d5 |
| 3. | Bg2 | c6 |
| 4. | c4 | dxc4 |
| 5. | Na3 | e5 |
| 6. | Nxe5 | Bxa3 |
| 7. | bxa3 | Qd4 |
| 8. | Rb1 | Qxe5 |
How the Reti Opening: Wins a Piece (Ferrell–Wall) works
The Reti Opening: Wins a Piece (Ferrell–Wall) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Reti Opening. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 8, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 c6 4.c4 dxc4 5.Na3 e5 6.Nxe5 Bxa3 7.bxa3 Qd4 8.Rb1 Qxe5. 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 (Ferrell - Wall, Bill, 1983.??.??). 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 Piece (Ferrell–Wall) 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.