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Final position — Black is winning

King's Indian defence

King's Indian Defence: White Queen Trap

Black wins in 13 moves with a decisive material gain. (Wittgenstein - Atkinson, Pennsylvania 1970)

The moves

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Bg5 O-O 6.Qd2 c5 7.dxc5 dxc5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.Nd5 Nc6 11.Nxf6+ exf6 12.Ne2 Nb4 13.Rc1 Nd3+
1.d4Nf6
2.c4g6
3.Nc3Bg7
4.e4d6
5.Bg5O-O
6.Qd2c5
7.dxc5dxc5
8.Qxd8Rxd8
9.Bxf6Bxf6
10.Nd5Nc6
11.Nxf6+exf6
12.Ne2Nb4
13.Rc1Nd3+

How the King's Indian Defence: White Queen Trap works

The King's Indian Defence: White Queen Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the King's Indian 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 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Bg5 O-O 6.Qd2 c5 7.dxc5 dxc5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.Nd5 Nc6 11.Nxf6+ exf6 12.Ne2 Nb4 13.Rc1 Nd3+. 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 (Wittgenstein - Atkinson, Pennsylvania 1970). 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: White 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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