Final position — Black is winning
Queen's Pawn Game: Opening Trap (J Fowler–Wall)
Black wins in 7 moves with a decisive material gain. (J Fowler - Wall, NC 1974)
The moves
| 1. | d4 | d5 |
| 2. | e3 | e6 |
| 3. | Nc3 | Nf6 |
| 4. | Bb5+ | c6 |
| 5. | Ba4 | a5 |
| 6. | Nf3 | b5 |
| 7. | Bb3 | a4 |
How the Queen's Pawn Game: Opening Trap (J Fowler–Wall) works
The Queen's Pawn Game: Opening Trap (J Fowler–Wall) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Queen's pawn game. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 7, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.d4 d5 2.e3 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5+ c6 5.Ba4 a5 6.Nf3 b5 7.Bb3 a4. 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 (J Fowler - Wall, NC 1974). 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: Opening Trap (J Fowler–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.