Final position — Black is winning
Nimzo-Indian Defence: Wins a Pawn
Black wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain. (Hansen - Jensen, Denmark 1945)
The moves
| 1. | d4 | Nf6 |
| 2. | c4 | e6 |
| 3. | Nc3 | Bb4 |
| 4. | Qb3 | c5 |
| 5. | dxc5 | Nc6 |
| 6. | Nf3 | Ne4 |
| 7. | Bd2 | Nxd2 |
| 8. | Nxd2 | Qa5 |
| 9. | O-O-O | Nd4 |
| 10. | Qa4 | Bxc3 |
How the Nimzo-Indian Defence: Wins a Pawn works
The Nimzo-Indian Defence: Wins a Pawn is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Nimzo-Indian 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 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qb3 c5 5.dxc5 Nc6 6.Nf3 Ne4 7.Bd2 Nxd2 8.Nxd2 Qa5 9.O-O-O Nd4 10.Qa4 Bxc3. 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 (Hansen - Jensen, Denmark 1945). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Nimzo-Indian Defence: 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.