Final position — Black is winning
French Defence: Opening Trap (Unknown–Blaine)
Black wins in 7 moves with a decisive material gain. (Unknown - Blaine, Indianapolis 1980)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e6 |
| 2. | Qf3 | d5 |
| 3. | exd5 | exd5 |
| 4. | d4 | Nf6 |
| 5. | Nc3 | c6 |
| 6. | Be3 | Bd6 |
| 7. | Nh3 | Bg4 |
How the French Defence: Opening Trap (Unknown–Blaine) works
The French Defence: Opening Trap (Unknown–Blaine) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the French Defence. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 7, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e6 2.Qf3 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nc3 c6 6.Be3 Bd6 7.Nh3 Bg4. 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 (Unknown - Blaine, Indianapolis 1980). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the French Defence: Opening Trap (Unknown–Blaine) 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.