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Final position — White is winning

Gruenfeld Defence

Gruenfeld Defence: Black Queen Trap

White wins in 12 moves with a decisive material gain. (Koomen - Boomgaardt, Netherlands 1970)

The moves

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.g4 Bg7 5.g5 Ne4 6.Nxd5 c6 7.Nc3 Qa5 8.Bd2 Qf5 9.f4 Bxd4 10.Bh3 Qxh3 11.Nxh3 Bxh3 12.Nxe4 Bg2
1.d4Nf6
2.c4g6
3.Nc3d5
4.g4Bg7
5.g5Ne4
6.Nxd5c6
7.Nc3Qa5
8.Bd2Qf5
9.f4Bxd4
10.Bh3Qxh3
11.Nxh3Bxh3
12.Nxe4Bg2

How the Gruenfeld Defence: Black Queen Trap works

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

The full sequence runs 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.g4 Bg7 5.g5 Ne4 6.Nxd5 c6 7.Nc3 Qa5 8.Bd2 Qf5 9.f4 Bxd4 10.Bh3 Qxh3 11.Nxh3 Bxh3 12.Nxe4 Bg2. 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.

This pattern is well known from master and correspondence play (Koomen - Boomgaardt, Netherlands 1970). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Gruenfeld Defence: Black Queen 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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