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Win in 8 Moves with the Stafford Gambit

He pinned the knight to the queen. The knight moved anyway.

Now playing0:33

Win in 8 Moves with the Stafford Gambit: the video's coverPress start

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WhiteK.O. · material 34/39
BlackWins · material 26/39
White
WhiteTakes the queen.
Black
BlackSets the trap.
Event
An opening trap, not a recorded game
Opening
Petrov Defense, Stafford Gambit (C42)
Result
0-1Checkmate, 8 moves
Video
0:33Published 11 November 2026

The story

This one is not a game between two named players. It is an opening trap, and it can happen on any board.

In the Stafford Gambit Black gives up a pawn on move 3 to bring the pieces out fast. After 5...Bc5 the bishop already looks at f2, the weak square next to the white king.

White plays the natural move: 6.Bg5 pins the knight to the queen. It looks strong. The knight moves anyway: 6...Nxe4.

If White takes the queen, 7.Bxd8, the game is over. 7...Bxf2+ is check, and the king cannot take the bishop because the knight on e4 guards it. The king has one square, e2, and 8...Bg4 is checkmate.

Two bishops and a knight give mate. The black queen was taken a move and a half earlier.

Key moments

Frames from the video, one for each turning point.

  1. 6.Bg5 in the video: the pin

    6.Bg5?

    The pin

    White pins the knight to the queen. It is the first mistake.

  2. 6...Nxe4 in the video: the pinned knight moves

    6...Nxe4!

    The pinned knight moves

    The knight takes on e4 and leaves the queen to the bishop.

  3. 7.Bxd8 in the video: the queen is taken

    7.Bxd8??

    The queen is taken

    The second mistake. Taking the queen loses by force.

  4. 7...Bxf2+ in the video: check

    7...Bxf2+

    Check

    The king cannot take: the knight guards f2. It has one legal move.

  5. 8...Bg4# in the video: checkmate

    8...Bg4#

    Checkmate

    Two bishops and a knight. The queen is long gone.

Command list

White vs Black · 16 plies · 0-1

Download
  1. 1.e4e5
  2. 2.Nf3Nf6
  3. 3.Nxe5Nc6
  4. 4.Nxc6dxc6
  5. 5.d3Bc5
  6. 6.Bg5?Nxe4!
  7. 7.Bxd8??Bxf2+
  8. 8.Ke2Bg4#
The PGN file
[Event "Stafford Gambit: the queen trap"]
[Site "An opening trap, not a recorded game"]
[White "White"]
[Black "Black"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nc6 4. Nxc6 dxc6 5. d3 Bc5 6. Bg5 Nxe4 7. Bxd8 Bxf2+ 8. Ke2 Bg4# 0-1

Behind the edit

What it took to turn 7 plies into 0:33 of video. Counted from the finished edit.

Effects
257
Kinds of effect
57
Sound cues
17
Moves, each with its own light
7
Seconds of video
33

What we checked

Every caption in the video was checked against the sources. Some well-known stories did not survive.

  • A famous game.

    It is a trap line, not a recorded game, so the video names no players and no place.

  • Black wins by force.

    Only with White's help. The engine marks two white moves as the mistakes: 6.Bg5 and then 7.Bxd8. After the second one the mate is forced.

  • The king can take the bishop.

    It cannot. The knight on e4 guards both f2 and d2, so after 7...Bxf2+ White has exactly one legal move, 8.Ke2, and 8...Bg4 is mate.

Credits

  • Music and voices: original.

Sources

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