Final position — Black is winning
Monticelli Trap
Black wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain.
The moves
| 1. | d4 | Nf6 |
| 2. | c4 | e6 |
| 3. | Nf3 | Bb4+ |
| 4. | Bd2 | Bxd2+ |
| 5. | Qxd2 | b6 |
| 6. | g3 | Bb7 |
| 7. | Bg2 | O-O |
| 8. | Nc3 | Ne4 |
| 9. | Qc2 | Nxc3 |
| 10. | Ng5 |
How the Monticelli Trap works
The Monticelli Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Bogo-Indian Defence. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 10, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Bxd2+ 5.Qxd2 b6 6.g3 Bb7 7.Bg2 O-O 8.Nc3 Ne4 9.Qc2 Nxc3 10.Ng5. 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 Monticelli 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.