Final position — Black is winning
Gruenfeld Defence: Opening Trap
Black wins in 13 moves with a decisive material gain. (Musolino - Porreca, Postal 1965)
The moves
| 1. | d4 | Nf6 |
| 2. | c4 | g6 |
| 3. | Nc3 | d5 |
| 4. | Qb3 | dxc4 |
| 5. | Qxc4 | Be6 |
| 6. | Qb5+ | Nc6 |
| 7. | Nf3 | Nd5 |
| 8. | e4 | a6 |
| 9. | Qb3 | Ne3 |
| 10. | Nd5 | Nxd5 |
| 11. | exd5 | Qxd5 |
| 12. | Qxb7 | Qe4+ |
| 13. | Be3 | Ra7 |
How the Gruenfeld Defence: Opening Trap works
The Gruenfeld Defence: Opening Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Gruenfeld Defence. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 13, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Qb3 dxc4 5.Qxc4 Be6 6.Qb5+ Nc6 7.Nf3 Nd5 8.e4 a6 9.Qb3 Ne3 10.Nd5 Nxd5 11.exd5 Qxd5 12.Qxb7 Qe4+ 13.Be3 Ra7. 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 (Musolino - Porreca, Postal 1965). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Gruenfeld Defence: Opening 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.