Final position — White is winning
Pawn Fork
White wins in 11 moves with a decisive material gain. (50 Opening Traps,Part 1 - Pawn Fork - A06 - https://lichess.org/@/CHESSLUCAFD)
The moves
| 1. | Nf3 | d5 |
| 2. | b3 | Bf5 |
| 3. | Bb2 | e6 |
| 4. | g3 | Nf6 |
| 5. | Bg2 | Nbd7 |
| 6. | O-O | Bd6 |
| 7. | d3 | O-O |
| 8. | Nbd2 | h6 |
| 9. | Re1 | c6 |
| 10. | e4 | Bg4 |
| 11. | e5 |
How the Pawn Fork works
The Pawn Fork is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Reti Opening. In this line White wins decisive material by move 11, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.Nf3 d5 2.b3 Bf5 3.Bb2 e6 4.g3 Nf6 5.Bg2 Nbd7 6.O-O Bd6 7.d3 O-O 8.Nbd2 h6 9.Re1 c6 10.e4 Bg4 11.e5. 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 (50 Opening Traps,Part 1 - Pawn Fork - A06 - https://lichess.org/@/CHESSLUCAFD). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Pawn Fork 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.