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Final position — White is winning

King's pawn game

King's Pawn Game: Wins a Piece #2

White wins in 9 moves with a decisive material gain. (Wall, Bill - Milkman, 1996.??.??)

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 f5 4.exf5 e4 5.Ne5 Nxe5 6.dxe5 d6 7.Qh5+ Ke7 8.Bg5+ Nf6 9.exf6+
1.e4e5
2.Nf3Nc6
3.d4f5
4.exf5e4
5.Ne5Nxe5
6.dxe5d6
7.Qh5+Ke7
8.Bg5+Nf6
9.exf6+

How the King's Pawn Game: Wins a Piece #2 works

The King's Pawn Game: Wins a Piece #2 is a classic chess opening trap arising from the King's pawn game. In this line White wins decisive material by move 9, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 f5 4.exf5 e4 5.Ne5 Nxe5 6.dxe5 d6 7.Qh5+ Ke7 8.Bg5+ Nf6 9.exf6+. 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 (Wall, Bill - Milkman, 1996.??.??). 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: Wins a Piece #2 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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