Final position — White is winning
Philidor's Defence: Black Queen Trap
White wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain. (Sanchez - Delgado, Internet 1995)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | d6 |
| 3. | d4 | Nf6 |
| 4. | dxe5 | Nxe4 |
| 5. | exd6 | Bxd6 |
| 6. | Qd4 | Nf6 |
| 7. | Bg5 | Nc6 |
| 8. | Bb5 | O-O |
| 9. | Bxf6 | Nxd4 |
| 10. | Bxd8 | Nxc2+ |
How the Philidor's Defence: Black Queen Trap works
The Philidor's Defence: Black Queen Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Philidor's defence. In this line White wins decisive material by move 10, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.dxe5 Nxe4 5.exd6 Bxd6 6.Qd4 Nf6 7.Bg5 Nc6 8.Bb5 O-O 9.Bxf6 Nxd4 10.Bxd8 Nxc2+. Each move looks reasonable, which is exactly why the trap is so effective over the board — Black walks into it while trying to play "normal" developing moves.
This pattern is well known from master and correspondence play (Sanchez - Delgado, Internet 1995). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Philidor's Defence: Black 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.