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Final position — White is winning

Englund Gambit

Englund Gambit: Wins a Pawn

White wins in 9 moves with a decisive material gain. (Roughman - Gedult, France 1968)

The moves

1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 f6 4.Bf4 fxe5 5.Nxe5 Qf6 6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.Bc1 Bg4 8.h3 Rd8 9.Nd2 Bc5
1.d4e5
2.dxe5Nc6
3.Nf3f6
4.Bf4fxe5
5.Nxe5Qf6
6.Nxc6dxc6
7.Bc1Bg4
8.h3Rd8
9.Nd2Bc5

How the Englund Gambit: Wins a Pawn works

The Englund Gambit: Wins a Pawn is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Englund Gambit. In this line White wins decisive material by move 9, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.

The full sequence runs 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 f6 4.Bf4 fxe5 5.Nxe5 Qf6 6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.Bc1 Bg4 8.h3 Rd8 9.Nd2 Bc5. 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 (Roughman - Gedult, France 1968). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.

Practice this trap move-by-move

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