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Final position — Black is winning

Old Indian Defence

Old Indian Defence: White Queen Trap (Visier–Tal)

Black wins in 15 moves with a decisive material gain. (Visier - Tal, Palma de Mallorca 1966)

The moves

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 Bf5 4.f3 e5 5.dxe5 dxe5 6.Qxd8+ Kxd8 7.Bg5 c6 8.O-O-O+ Kc7 9.g3 Be6 10.b3 Bc5 11.Bh3 Bxg1 12.Rhxg1 Bxh3 13.g4 h5 14.Rg3 hxg4 15.fxg4 Nbd7
1.d4Nf6
2.c4d6
3.Nc3Bf5
4.f3e5
5.dxe5dxe5
6.Qxd8+Kxd8
7.Bg5c6
8.O-O-O+Kc7
9.g3Be6
10.b3Bc5
11.Bh3Bxg1
12.Rhxg1Bxh3
13.g4h5
14.Rg3hxg4
15.fxg4Nbd7

How the Old Indian Defence: White Queen Trap (Visier–Tal) works

The Old Indian Defence: White Queen Trap (Visier–Tal) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Old Indian Defence. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 15, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.

The full sequence runs 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 Bf5 4.f3 e5 5.dxe5 dxe5 6.Qxd8+ Kxd8 7.Bg5 c6 8.O-O-O+ Kc7 9.g3 Be6 10.b3 Bc5 11.Bh3 Bxg1 12.Rhxg1 Bxh3 13.g4 h5 14.Rg3 hxg4 15.fxg4 Nbd7. 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 (Visier - Tal, Palma de Mallorca 1966). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Old Indian Defence: White Queen Trap (Visier–Tal) 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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