Final position — White is winning
My Favorite Trap (Sometimes works against GMs!)
White wins in 14 moves with a decisive material gain. (Stafford Gambit Traps - My Favorite Trap (Sometimes works against GMs!) - C42 - https://lichess.org/@/nhatduy)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nf6 |
| 3. | Nxe5 | Nc6 |
| 4. | Nxc6 | dxc6 |
| 5. | Nc3 | Bc5 |
| 6. | Be2 | h5 |
| 7. | h3 | Qd4 |
| 8. | O-O | Ng4 |
| 9. | hxg4 | hxg4 |
| 10. | g3 | Qe5 |
| 11. | Kg2 | Bxf2 |
| 12. | Kxf2 | Rh2+ |
| 13. | Ke3 | Qxg3+ |
| 14. | Kd4 | Be6 |
How the My Favorite Trap (Sometimes works against GMs!) works
The My Favorite Trap (Sometimes works against GMs!) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Petrov's defence. In this line White wins decisive material by move 14, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nc6 4.Nxc6 dxc6 5.Nc3 Bc5 6.Be2 h5 7.h3 Qd4 8.O-O Ng4 9.hxg4 hxg4 10.g3 Qe5 11.Kg2 Bxf2 12.Kxf2 Rh2+ 13.Ke3 Qxg3+ 14.Kd4 Be6. 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 (Stafford Gambit Traps - My Favorite Trap (Sometimes works against GMs!) - C42 - https://lichess.org/@/nhatduy). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the My Favorite Trap (Sometimes works against GMs!) 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.