Final position — White is winning
Two Knights Defence: Wins a Piece
White wins in 12 moves with a decisive material gain. (Fischer - Kuhn, Chicago 1964)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bc4 | Nf6 |
| 4. | Ng5 | d5 |
| 5. | exd5 | Nxd5 |
| 6. | d4 | f6 |
| 7. | dxe5 | Nxe5 |
| 8. | Bxd5 | fxg5 |
| 9. | O-O | Bd7 |
| 10. | Re1 | Qf6 |
| 11. | Qh5+ | Qg6 |
| 12. | Rxe5+ |
How the Two Knights Defence: Wins a Piece works
The Two Knights Defence: Wins a Piece 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 Nxd5 6.d4 f6 7.dxe5 Nxe5 8.Bxd5 fxg5 9.O-O Bd7 10.Re1 Qf6 11.Qh5+ Qg6 12.Rxe5+. 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 - Kuhn, Chicago 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 Piece 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.