Final position — Black is winning
Nimzo-Indian Defence: Wins a Pawn (Layne–Zwaig)
Black wins in 8 moves with a decisive material gain. (Layne - Zwaig, Reykjavik 1975)
The moves
| 1. | d4 | Nf6 |
| 2. | c4 | e6 |
| 3. | Nc3 | Bb4 |
| 4. | Bg5 | c5 |
| 5. | e3 | Qa5 |
| 6. | Rc1 | Ne4 |
| 7. | Nf3 | Nxg5 |
| 8. | Nxg5 | cxd4 |
How the Nimzo-Indian Defence: Wins a Pawn (Layne–Zwaig) works
The Nimzo-Indian Defence: Wins a Pawn (Layne–Zwaig) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Nimzo-Indian Defence. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 8, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bg5 c5 5.e3 Qa5 6.Rc1 Ne4 7.Nf3 Nxg5 8.Nxg5 cxd4. 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 (Layne - Zwaig, Reykjavik 1975). 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 (Layne–Zwaig) 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.