Final position — White is winning
King gambit trap
White wins in 12 moves with a decisive material gain. (Traps - King gambit trap - C37 - https://lichess.org/@/MaxMalkov)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | f4 | exf4 |
| 3. | Nf3 | g5 |
| 4. | Bc4 | g4 |
| 5. | O-O | gxf3 |
| 6. | d4 | fxg2 |
| 7. | Bxf7+ | Kxf7 |
| 8. | Qh5+ | Ke7 |
| 9. | Rxf4 | Nf6 |
| 10. | Rxf6 | Kxf6 |
| 11. | Bg5+ | Kg7 |
| 12. | Bxd8 |
How the King gambit trap works
The King gambit trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the King's gambit. In this line White wins decisive material by move 12, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4 g4 5.O-O gxf3 6.d4 fxg2 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qh5+ Ke7 9.Rxf4 Nf6 10.Rxf6 Kxf6 11.Bg5+ Kg7 12.Bxd8. 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 - King gambit trap - C37 - 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 King gambit 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.