abcdefgh

Final position — Black is winning

Bishop's opening

Bishops Opening Trap

Black wins in 9 moves with a decisive material gain. (Traps - Chess Traps - Bishops Opening Trap - C41 - https://lichess.org/@/gambits2pieces)

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 d6 3.Nf3 h6 4.d4 exd4 5.c3 dxc3 6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.Ne5+ Ke8 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Qxg6+ Ke7
1.e4e5
2.Bc4d6
3.Nf3h6
4.d4exd4
5.c3dxc3
6.Bxf7+Kxf7
7.Ne5+Ke8
8.Qh5+g6
9.Qxg6+Ke7

How the Bishops Opening Trap works

The Bishops Opening Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Bishop's opening. 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.Bc4 d6 3.Nf3 h6 4.d4 exd4 5.c3 dxc3 6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.Ne5+ Ke8 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Qxg6+ Ke7. 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 (Traps - Chess Traps - Bishops Opening Trap - C41 - https://lichess.org/@/gambits2pieces). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Bishops Opening Trap 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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