Final position — White is winning
Queen's Pawn Game: Opening Trap (DeButts–Critchfield)
White wins in 8 moves with a decisive material gain. (DeButts - Critchfield, Internet 1994)
The moves
| 1. | d4 | d5 |
| 2. | e3 | Nf6 |
| 3. | Bd3 | Bg4 |
| 4. | f3 | Bh5 |
| 5. | c3 | Nc6 |
| 6. | Qb3 | b6 |
| 7. | Qa4 | Qd7 |
| 8. | Bb5 |
How the Queen's Pawn Game: Opening Trap (DeButts–Critchfield) works
The Queen's Pawn Game: Opening Trap (DeButts–Critchfield) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Queen's pawn game. In this line White wins decisive material by move 8, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.d4 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.Bd3 Bg4 4.f3 Bh5 5.c3 Nc6 6.Qb3 b6 7.Qa4 Qd7 8.Bb5. 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 (DeButts - Critchfield, Internet 1994). 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 Pawn Game: Opening Trap (DeButts–Critchfield) 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.