Final position — White is winning
Tennison Gambit: ICBM Trap
White wins in 8 moves with a decisive material gain. (Traps 99% win - Tennison gambit - A06 - https://lichess.org/@/MaxMalkov)
The moves
| 1. | Nf3 | d5 |
| 2. | e4 | dxe4 |
| 3. | Ng5 | Nf6 |
| 4. | d3 | exd3 |
| 5. | Bxd3 | h6 |
| 6. | Nxf7 | Kxf7 |
| 7. | Bg6+ | Kxg6 |
| 8. | Qxd8 |
How the Tennison Gambit: ICBM Trap works
The Tennison Gambit: ICBM Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Zukertort Opening: Tennison Gambit. In this line White wins decisive material by move 8, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.Nf3 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Ng5 Nf6 4.d3 exd3 5.Bxd3 h6 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Bg6+ Kxg6 8.Qxd8. 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 (Traps 99% win - Tennison gambit - A06 - https://lichess.org/@/MaxMalkov). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Tennison Gambit: ICBM 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.