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Final position — Black is winning

Pirc Defence

Pirc Austrian Attack Trap

Black wins in 12 moves with a decisive material gain.

The moves

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.e5 Nfd7 7.h4 c5 8.h5 cxd4 9.hxg6 dxc3 10.gxf7+ Rxf7 11.Bc4 e6 12.Ng5
1.e4d6
2.d4Nf6
3.Nc3g6
4.f4Bg7
5.Nf3O-O
6.e5Nfd7
7.h4c5
8.h5cxd4
9.hxg6dxc3
10.gxf7+Rxf7
11.Bc4e6
12.Ng5

How the Pirc Austrian Attack Trap works

The Pirc Austrian Attack Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Pirc Defence. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 12, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.e5 Nfd7 7.h4 c5 8.h5 cxd4 9.hxg6 dxc3 10.gxf7+ Rxf7 11.Bc4 e6 12.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 Pirc Austrian Attack 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.

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