Final position — Black is winning
Caro-Kann Defence: White Queen Trap
Black wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain. (Janko - Lumsdon, 1991.??.??)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | c6 |
| 2. | d4 | d5 |
| 3. | exd5 | cxd5 |
| 4. | c4 | Nf6 |
| 5. | Nc3 | Nc6 |
| 6. | Bg5 | dxc4 |
| 7. | Bxc4 | Qxd4 |
| 8. | Qxd4 | Nxd4 |
| 9. | O-O-O | Nc6 |
| 10. | Nb5 |
How the Caro-Kann Defence: White Queen Trap works
The Caro-Kann Defence: White Queen Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Caro-Kann 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.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 dxc4 7.Bxc4 Qxd4 8.Qxd4 Nxd4 9.O-O-O Nc6 10.Nb5. 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 (Janko - Lumsdon, 1991.??.??). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Caro-Kann Defence: White Queen 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.