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Final position — Black is winning

King's Indian defence

King's Indian Defence: Opening Trap

Black wins in 12 moves with a decisive material gain. (Michailhishin - Romanishin, 1981.??.??)

The moves

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.Nc3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 c5 8.Be3 Qa5 9.Qd2 Nc6 10.Rb1 cxd4 11.cxd4 O-O 12.d5 Bc3
1.d4Nf6
2.c4g6
3.Nf3Bg7
4.Nc3d5
5.cxd5Nxd5
6.e4Nxc3
7.bxc3c5
8.Be3Qa5
9.Qd2Nc6
10.Rb1cxd4
11.cxd4O-O
12.d5Bc3

How the King's Indian Defence: Opening Trap works

The King's Indian Defence: Opening Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the King's Indian 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.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.Nc3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 c5 8.Be3 Qa5 9.Qd2 Nc6 10.Rb1 cxd4 11.cxd4 O-O 12.d5 Bc3. 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 (Michailhishin - Romanishin, 1981.??.??). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the King's Indian 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.

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