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Final position — Black is winning

Robatsch Defence

Robatsch Defence: Opening Trap

Black wins in 8 moves with a decisive material gain. (Hallier - Fegebank, Germany 1991)

The moves

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c6 4.f4 d6 5.Be2 Qb6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.Na4 Qa5+ 8.c3 b5
1.e4g6
2.d4Bg7
3.Nc3c6
4.f4d6
5.Be2Qb6
6.Nf3Bg4
7.Na4Qa5+
8.c3b5

How the Robatsch Defence: Opening Trap works

The Robatsch Defence: Opening Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Robatsch 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.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c6 4.f4 d6 5.Be2 Qb6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.Na4 Qa5+ 8.c3 b5. 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 (Hallier - Fegebank, Germany 1991). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Robatsch Defence: Opening 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.

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