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Final position — Black is winning

Vienna Game

Vienna Game: Wins a Piece (Glasscoe–Wall)

Black wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain. (Glasscoe - Wall, Sunnyvale, CA 1985)

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 Nf6 9.Qf3 Nxd5 10.c3
1.e4e5
2.Nc3Nc6
3.Bc4Bc5
4.Qg4Qf6
5.Nd5Qxf2+
6.Kd1Kf8
7.Nh3Qd4
8.d3Nf6
9.Qf3Nxd5
10.c3

How the Vienna Game: Wins a Piece (Glasscoe–Wall) works

The Vienna Game: Wins a Piece (Glasscoe–Wall) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Vienna Game. 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 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Qg4 Qf6 5.Nd5 Qxf2+ 6.Kd1 Kf8 7.Nh3 Qd4 8.d3 Nf6 9.Qf3 Nxd5 10.c3. 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 (Glasscoe - Wall, Sunnyvale, CA 1985). 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 (Glasscoe–Wall) 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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