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Final position — White is winning

King's pawn opening

King's Pawn Opening: Wins a Pawn (Jowett–Andersen)

White wins in 11 moves with a decisive material gain. (Jowett - Andersen, Denmark 1991)

The moves

1.e4 a6 2.d4 b5 3.Nf3 Bb7 4.Bd3 e6 5.O-O c5 6.c3 Nf6 7.Re1 d5 8.e5 Nfd7 9.Ng5 cxd4 10.Nxe6 Qc8 11.Nxd4
1.e4a6
2.d4b5
3.Nf3Bb7
4.Bd3e6
5.O-Oc5
6.c3Nf6
7.Re1d5
8.e5Nfd7
9.Ng5cxd4
10.Nxe6Qc8
11.Nxd4

How the King's Pawn Opening: Wins a Pawn (Jowett–Andersen) works

The King's Pawn Opening: Wins a Pawn (Jowett–Andersen) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the King's pawn opening. In this line White wins decisive material by move 11, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 a6 2.d4 b5 3.Nf3 Bb7 4.Bd3 e6 5.O-O c5 6.c3 Nf6 7.Re1 d5 8.e5 Nfd7 9.Ng5 cxd4 10.Nxe6 Qc8 11.Nxd4. 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 (Jowett - Andersen, Denmark 1991). 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 Opening: Wins a Pawn (Jowett–Andersen) 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.

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