Final position — White is winning
Two Knights Defence: Wins a Pawn (Fischer–Burger)
White wins in 12 moves with a decisive material gain. (Fischer - Burger, San Francisco 1964)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bc4 | Nf6 |
| 4. | Ng5 | d5 |
| 5. | exd5 | Nd4 |
| 6. | c3 | b5 |
| 7. | Bf1 | Nxd5 |
| 8. | cxd4 | Qxg5 |
| 9. | Bxb5+ | Kd8 |
| 10. | Qf3 | Bb7 |
| 11. | O-O | exd4 |
| 12. | Qxf7 | Nf6 |
How the Two Knights Defence: Wins a Pawn (Fischer–Burger) works
The Two Knights Defence: Wins a Pawn (Fischer–Burger) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Two Knights Defence. In this line White wins decisive material by move 12, 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 Nd4 6.c3 b5 7.Bf1 Nxd5 8.cxd4 Qxg5 9.Bxb5+ Kd8 10.Qf3 Bb7 11.O-O exd4 12.Qxf7 Nf6. 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 (Fischer - Burger, San Francisco 1964). 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 (Fischer–Burger) 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.