Final position — Black is winning
English Opening: White Queen Trap
Black wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain. (Panzalovic - Dancevski, 1990)
The moves
| 1. | c4 | c5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | d4 | cxd4 |
| 4. | Nxd4 | g6 |
| 5. | b3 | Bg7 |
| 6. | Bb2 | Nxd4 |
| 7. | Bxd4 | Qa5+ |
| 8. | Nc3 | Qxc3+ |
| 9. | Bxc3 | Bxc3+ |
| 10. | Qd2 | Bxd2+ |
How the English Opening: White Queen Trap works
The English Opening: White Queen Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the English Opening. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 10, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.b3 Bg7 6.Bb2 Nxd4 7.Bxd4 Qa5+ 8.Nc3 Qxc3+ 9.Bxc3 Bxc3+ 10.Qd2 Bxd2+. 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 (Panzalovic - Dancevski, 1990). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the English Opening: 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.