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Final position — Black is winning

Gruenfeld Defence

Gruenfeld Defence: Wins a Piece

Black wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain. (Rundle - Rooswa, Tulsa 1988)

The moves

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bg5 Ne4 5.Nxe4 dxe4 6.g3 Bg7 7.e3 c5 8.Bg2 cxd4 9.Bxe4 Qa5+ 10.Qd2 Qxg5
1.d4Nf6
2.c4g6
3.Nc3d5
4.Bg5Ne4
5.Nxe4dxe4
6.g3Bg7
7.e3c5
8.Bg2cxd4
9.Bxe4Qa5+
10.Qd2Qxg5

How the Gruenfeld Defence: Wins a Piece works

The Gruenfeld Defence: Wins a Piece is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Gruenfeld Defence. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 10, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.

The full sequence runs 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bg5 Ne4 5.Nxe4 dxe4 6.g3 Bg7 7.e3 c5 8.Bg2 cxd4 9.Bxe4 Qa5+ 10.Qd2 Qxg5. 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 (Rundle - Rooswa, Tulsa 1988). 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: Wins a Piece 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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