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Final position — Black is winning

Italian Game

Trap 4

Black wins in 9 moves with a decisive material gain. (6 Traps to use in games - Trap 4 - C44 - https://lichess.org/@/EkuPotter)

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d4 exd4 5.c3 dxc3 6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Qxc5
1.e4e5
2.Nf3Nc6
3.Bc4Bc5
4.d4exd4
5.c3dxc3
6.Bxf7+Kxf7
7.Qd5+Ke8
8.Qh5+g6
9.Qxc5

How the Trap 4 works

The Trap 4 is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Italian Game. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 9, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d4 exd4 5.c3 dxc3 6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Qxc5. 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 (6 Traps to use in games - Trap 4 - C44 - https://lichess.org/@/EkuPotter). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Trap 4 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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