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Final position — Black is winning

Vienna Opening

Vienna Opening: Wins a Pawn

Black wins in 5 moves with a decisive material gain. (Lovegren - Wall, Dayton 1980)

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f3 Nh5 4.d4 Qh4+ 5.g3 Nxg3
1.e4e5
2.Nc3Nf6
3.f3Nh5
4.d4Qh4+
5.g3Nxg3

How the Vienna Opening: Wins a Pawn works

The Vienna Opening: Wins a Pawn is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Vienna Opening. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 5, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f3 Nh5 4.d4 Qh4+ 5.g3 Nxg3. Each move looks reasonable, which is exactly why the trap is so effective over the board — White walks into it while trying to play "normal" developing moves.

This pattern is well known from master and correspondence play (Lovegren - Wall, Dayton 1980). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Vienna Opening: Wins a Pawn 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.

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