Final position — Black is winning
Vienna Game: Wins a Piece (Brooks–Crous)
Black wins in 13 moves with a decisive material gain. (Brooks - Crous, South Africa 1946)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nc3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bc4 | Bc5 |
| 4. | Qg4 | Qf6 |
| 5. | Nd5 | Qxf2+ |
| 6. | Kd1 | Kf8 |
| 7. | Nh3 | Qd4 |
| 8. | d3 | Bb6 |
| 9. | Rf1 | f6 |
| 10. | Nxf6 | Nxf6 |
| 11. | Bh6 | gxh6 |
| 12. | Rxf6+ | Ke8 |
| 13. | Qg7 |
How the Vienna Game: Wins a Piece (Brooks–Crous) works
The Vienna Game: Wins a Piece (Brooks–Crous) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Vienna Game. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 13, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Qg4 Qf6 5.Nd5 Qxf2+ 6.Kd1 Kf8 7.Nh3 Qd4 8.d3 Bb6 9.Rf1 f6 10.Nxf6 Nxf6 11.Bh6 gxh6 12.Rxf6+ Ke8 13.Qg7. 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 (Brooks - Crous, South Africa 1946). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Vienna Game: Wins a Piece (Brooks–Crous) 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.