Final position — White is winning
Benoni Trap
White wins in 14 moves with a decisive material gain.
The moves
| 1. | d4 | c5 |
| 2. | d5 | e6 |
| 3. | c4 | exd5 |
| 4. | cxd5 | d6 |
| 5. | Nc3 | g6 |
| 6. | e4 | Bg7 |
| 7. | Nf3 | Nf6 |
| 8. | Bb5+ | Nfd7 |
| 9. | O-O | a6 |
| 10. | Bg5 | Qc7 |
| 11. | e5 | axb5 |
| 12. | Nxb5 | Qb6 |
| 13. | Nxd6+ | Kf8 |
| 14. | Nxc8 |
How the Benoni Trap works
The Benoni Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Old Benoni Defence. In this line White wins decisive material by move 14, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.d4 c5 2.d5 e6 3.c4 exd5 4.cxd5 d6 5.Nc3 g6 6.e4 Bg7 7.Nf3 Nf6 8.Bb5+ Nfd7 9.O-O a6 10.Bg5 Qc7 11.e5 axb5 12.Nxb5 Qb6 13.Nxd6+ Kf8 14.Nxc8. 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.
Recognising this pattern early lets you either spring it as White or calmly sidestep it when you are Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Benoni 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.