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Final position — White is winning

Two Knights Defence

Two Knights Defence: Wins a Pawn

White wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain. (Fedotov - Woschkat, 1996.??.??)

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nb4 6.d6 Nbd5 7.dxc7 Qxc7 8.Bxd5 Nxd5 9.Qf3 Be7 10.Qxf7+
1.e4e5
2.Nf3Nc6
3.Bc4Nf6
4.Ng5d5
5.exd5Nb4
6.d6Nbd5
7.dxc7Qxc7
8.Bxd5Nxd5
9.Qf3Be7
10.Qxf7+

How the Two Knights Defence: Wins a Pawn works

The Two Knights Defence: Wins a Pawn is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Two Knights Defence. In this line White wins decisive material by move 10, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nb4 6.d6 Nbd5 7.dxc7 Qxc7 8.Bxd5 Nxd5 9.Qf3 Be7 10.Qxf7+. 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 (Fedotov - Woschkat, 1996.??.??). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Two Knights Defence: 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.

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