Final position — Black is winning
Queen's Pawn Game: Wins a Pawn
Black wins in 8 moves with a decisive material gain. (De Vore - Silman, Postal 1968)
The moves
| 1. | d4 | d5 |
| 2. | e4 | dxe4 |
| 3. | Nc3 | Nf6 |
| 4. | f3 | exf3 |
| 5. | Qxf3 | Nc6 |
| 6. | Bb5 | Qxd4 |
| 7. | Bxc6+ | bxc6 |
| 8. | Qxc6+ |
How the Queen's Pawn Game: Wins a Pawn works
The Queen's Pawn Game: Wins a Pawn is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Queen's pawn game. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 8, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Qxf3 Nc6 6.Bb5 Qxd4 7.Bxc6+ bxc6 8.Qxc6+. 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 (De Vore - Silman, Postal 1968). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Queen's Pawn Game: 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.