Final position — White is winning
Centre Game: Black Queen Trap
White wins in 7 moves with a decisive material gain. (Regan - Kichinski, Sunnyvale 1988)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | d4 | exd4 |
| 3. | Bc4 | Nf6 |
| 4. | Qe2 | Qe7 |
| 5. | e5 | d5 |
| 6. | exf6 | Qxe2+ |
| 7. | Bxe2 |
How the Centre Game: Black Queen Trap works
The Centre Game: Black Queen Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Centre Game. In this line White wins decisive material by move 7, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Qe2 Qe7 5.e5 d5 6.exf6 Qxe2+ 7.Bxe2. Each move looks reasonable, which is exactly why the trap is so effective over the board — Black walks into it while trying to play "normal" developing moves.
This pattern is well known from master and correspondence play (Regan - Kichinski, Sunnyvale 1988). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Centre Game: Black 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.