Final position — White is winning
Danish gambit
White wins in 16 moves with a decisive material gain. (Traps 99% win - Danish gambit - C21 - https://lichess.org/@/MaxMalkov)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | d4 | exd4 |
| 3. | c3 | dxc3 |
| 4. | Bc4 | cxb2 |
| 5. | Bxb2 | Bb4+ |
| 6. | Kf1 | Nf6 |
| 7. | e5 | Ne4 |
| 8. | Bxf7+ | Kxf7 |
| 9. | Qd5+ | Kg6 |
| 10. | Qxe4+ | Kf7 |
| 11. | Nf3 | d5 |
| 12. | exd6 | Qxd6 |
| 13. | Ng5+ | Kg8 |
| 14. | Qc4+ | Be6 |
| 15. | Nxe6 | b5 |
| 16. | Qb3 |
How the Danish gambit works
The Danish gambit is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Centre Game. In this line White wins decisive material by move 16, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 Bb4+ 6.Kf1 Nf6 7.e5 Ne4 8.Bxf7+ Kxf7 9.Qd5+ Kg6 10.Qxe4+ Kf7 11.Nf3 d5 12.exd6 Qxd6 13.Ng5+ Kg8 14.Qc4+ Be6 15.Nxe6 b5 16.Qb3. 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 - Danish gambit - C21 - 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 Danish gambit 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.