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Final position — Black is winning

Nimzovich-Larsen Attack

Nimzovich-Larsen Attack: Wins a Pawn

Black wins in 7 moves with a decisive material gain. (Johansen - Budde, 1986.??.??)

The moves

1.b3 d5 2.Bb2 Nf6 3.e3 e6 4.f4 g6 5.g4 Bg7 6.Be2 Nxg4 7.Bxg4 Bxb2
1.b3d5
2.Bb2Nf6
3.e3e6
4.f4g6
5.g4Bg7
6.Be2Nxg4
7.Bxg4Bxb2

How the Nimzovich-Larsen Attack: Wins a Pawn works

The Nimzovich-Larsen Attack: Wins a Pawn is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Nimzovich-Larsen Attack. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 7, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.

The full sequence runs 1.b3 d5 2.Bb2 Nf6 3.e3 e6 4.f4 g6 5.g4 Bg7 6.Be2 Nxg4 7.Bxg4 Bxb2. 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 (Johansen - Budde, 1986.??.??). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Nimzovich-Larsen Attack: Wins a Pawn 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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