Final position — Black is winning
Sicilian Defence: Wins a Pawn (Wetscherek–Erhart)
Black wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain. (Wetscherek - Erhart, Germany 1992)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | c5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | d6 |
| 3. | Bc4 | Nc6 |
| 4. | O-O | e6 |
| 5. | c3 | Nf6 |
| 6. | d4 | Nxe4 |
| 7. | d5 | Ne7 |
| 8. | dxe6 | Bxe6 |
| 9. | Bxe6 | fxe6 |
| 10. | Qa4+ |
How the Sicilian Defence: Wins a Pawn (Wetscherek–Erhart) works
The Sicilian Defence: Wins a Pawn (Wetscherek–Erhart) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Sicilian Defence. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 10, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Nc6 4.O-O e6 5.c3 Nf6 6.d4 Nxe4 7.d5 Ne7 8.dxe6 Bxe6 9.Bxe6 fxe6 10.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 (Wetscherek - Erhart, Germany 1992). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Sicilian Defence: Wins a Pawn (Wetscherek–Erhart) 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.