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Final position — White is winning

Vienna Game

Vienna Game: Wins the Exchange

White wins in 6 moves with a decisive material gain. (Wall - Hatfield, Guam 1974)

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 f5 3.Bc4 fxe4 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qxe5+ Qe7 6.Qxh8
1.e4e5
2.Nc3f5
3.Bc4fxe4
4.Qh5+g6
5.Qxe5+Qe7
6.Qxh8

How the Vienna Game: Wins the Exchange works

The Vienna Game: Wins the Exchange is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Vienna Game. In this line White wins decisive material by move 6, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 f5 3.Bc4 fxe4 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qxe5+ Qe7 6.Qxh8. 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 (Wall - Hatfield, Guam 1974). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Vienna Game: Wins the Exchange 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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