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Final position — Black is winning

Queen's pawn game

Queen's Pawn Game: Wins a Pawn (Vir–Wall)

Black wins in 9 moves with a decisive material gain. (Vir - Wall, Internet 1996)

The moves

1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bf4 Bf5 4.e3 e6 5.Qe2 Nbd7 6.Qb5 Bxc2 7.Nf3 Qc8 8.Be2 a6 9.Qa5 b6
1.d4d5
2.Nc3Nf6
3.Bf4Bf5
4.e3e6
5.Qe2Nbd7
6.Qb5Bxc2
7.Nf3Qc8
8.Be2a6
9.Qa5b6

How the Queen's Pawn Game: Wins a Pawn (Vir–Wall) works

The Queen's Pawn Game: Wins a Pawn (Vir–Wall) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Queen's pawn game. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 9, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.

The full sequence runs 1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bf4 Bf5 4.e3 e6 5.Qe2 Nbd7 6.Qb5 Bxc2 7.Nf3 Qc8 8.Be2 a6 9.Qa5 b6. 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 (Vir - Wall, Internet 1996). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Queen's Pawn Game: Wins a Pawn (Vir–Wall) 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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