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Final position — Black delivers mate

Sicilian Defence

Siberian Trap

Black wins in 10 moves by checkmate.

The moves

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bc4 Qc7 7.O-O Nf6 8.Qe2 Ng4 9.h3 Nd4 10.Nxd4 Qh2#
1.e4c5
2.d4cxd4
3.c3dxc3
4.Nxc3Nc6
5.Nf3e6
6.Bc4Qc7
7.O-ONf6
8.Qe2Ng4
9.h3Nd4
10.Nxd4Qh2#

How the Siberian Trap works

The Siberian Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Sicilian Defence. In this line Black delivers checkmate on move 10, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bc4 Qc7 7.O-O Nf6 8.Qe2 Ng4 9.h3 Nd4 10.Nxd4 Qh2#. 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.

Recognising this pattern early lets you either spring it as Black or calmly sidestep it when you are White.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Siberian 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.

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