The Würzburger Trap, named around 1930 for the German banker Max Würzburger, is the Vienna Gambit's answer to Black's most tempting idea: the check on h4. In the King's Gambit that check is often strong; here it is the start of a forced sequence in which Black's queen gets hunted across the board, the queens come off, and a greedy bishop ends its life in a cage on c2.
After the correct 3...d5 4.fxe5 Nxe4 5.d3, Black goes wrong with 5...Qh4+?. White blocks with 6.g3, and after 6...Nxg3 7.Nf3! the queen is pushed around while 8.Nxd5 hits c7. The forced sequence 9.Nf4 Bxf3 10.Nxh5 Bxd1 11.hxg3 trades everything, and the greedy 11...Bxc2? meets 12.b3!: the bishop is trapped and White wins a piece.
The Vienna Gambit 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4 d5 4.fxe5 Nxe4 5.d3 asks the e4 knight a question, and 5...Qh4+? feels like the punishment White deserves for weakening his kingside. It is the trap. 6.g3 forces 6...Nxg3, and now 7.Nf3! is the move Black missed: instead of taking the knight (the h1 rook is poisoned bait), White gains a tempo on the queen. After 7...Qh5 8.Nxd5! White threatens the fork on c7, and 8...Nxh1? 9.Nxc7+ Kd8 10.Nxa8 is simply good for White. So Black plays 8...Bg4, and the forcing sequence runs 9.Nf4 Bxf3 10.Nxh5 Bxd1 11.hxg3: queens and a pair of minor pieces have left the board, and material is dead level. Here Black's bishop must retreat from d1, and the pawn on c2 looks free. 11...Bxc2? takes it, and 12.b3! closes the cage: b3 and d3 are White pawns, d1 is covered by the king, b1 by the a1 rook, and Kd2 or Rh2 picks the bishop up next move. Even 12...Bb4+ 13.Bd2 Bxd2+ 14.Kxd2 changes nothing. White wins a piece for a pawn.
11… Bxc2 — 11...Bxc2? (ply 22) is the move that finally loses material: the bishop grabs a pawn in the corner of the board where it has no squares, and 12.b3 shuts the door. The move that started all the trouble was 5...Qh4+?, which looks aggressive but commits the queen to a forced, tempo-losing tour. Retreating with 11...Bg4 or 11...Bh5 instead would have kept material level.
As Black in the Vienna Gambit, resist the h4 check: after 4...Nxe4 5.d3 the sound moves are 5...Nxc3 or 5...Bb4, keeping the game normal. If you do end up in the forced sequence, settle for level material: retreat the bishop with 11...Bg4 and accept that White is slightly more comfortable. The one thing you must not do is grab the c2 pawn: any bishop that walks into c2 with White pawns on b3 and d3 is never coming home.
Twice. 5...Qh4+? commits the queen to a forced sequence in which White develops with gain of time (5...Nxc3 or 5...Bb4 are correct). Then, after the forced queen trade, 11...Bxc2? loses a piece on the spot to 12.b3. Stop at either fork and Black stays close to equal.
Look at its four moves: Bxb3 meets axb3, Bxd3 meets Bxd3, Bd1 meets Kxd1, and Bb1 meets Rxb1. If it stays put, Kd2 or Rh2 attacks it next move and nothing can defend it in time; even the spite check 12...Bb4+ 13.Bd2 Bxd2+ 14.Kxd2 leaves the c2 bishop just as dead.
A trap only works if your opponent makes the mistake — strong players sidestep these, which is why each page also shows how to avoid it. Every line here is checked legal with the same engine the board runs, and every checkmate is verified.