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Final position — White is winning

Queen's Indian defence

Queen's Indian Defence: Black Queen Trap

White wins in 18 moves with a decisive material gain. (Berlin - Aspengren, 1928.??.??)

The moves

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.Nc3 Bb7 5.g3 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Bg2 c5 8.O-O cxd4 9.Nxd4 Be7 10.Nf5 O-O 11.Nxd5 Nxd5 12.Bxd5 Qd7 13.Bxb7 Qxb7 14.Qd5 Qc7 15.Qxa8 Nc6 16.Qxc6 Qxc6 17.Nxe7+ Kh8 18.Nxc6
1.d4Nf6
2.c4e6
3.Nf3b6
4.Nc3Bb7
5.g3d5
6.cxd5exd5
7.Bg2c5
8.O-Ocxd4
9.Nxd4Be7
10.Nf5O-O
11.Nxd5Nxd5
12.Bxd5Qd7
13.Bxb7Qxb7
14.Qd5Qc7
15.Qxa8Nc6
16.Qxc6Qxc6
17.Nxe7+Kh8
18.Nxc6

How the Queen's Indian Defence: Black Queen Trap works

The Queen's Indian Defence: Black Queen Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Queen's Indian defence. In this line White wins decisive material by move 18, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.

The full sequence runs 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.Nc3 Bb7 5.g3 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Bg2 c5 8.O-O cxd4 9.Nxd4 Be7 10.Nf5 O-O 11.Nxd5 Nxd5 12.Bxd5 Qd7 13.Bxb7 Qxb7 14.Qd5 Qc7 15.Qxa8 Nc6 16.Qxc6 Qxc6 17.Nxe7+ Kh8 18.Nxc6. 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 (Berlin - Aspengren, 1928.??.??). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Queen's Indian 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.

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