Final position — Black is winning
Queen's Pawn Game: Opening Trap (Hondema–Baljon)
Black wins in 6 moves with a decisive material gain. (Hondema - Baljon, 1977)
The moves
| 1. | d4 | Nf6 |
| 2. | Bg5 | c5 |
| 3. | d5 | Qb6 |
| 4. | b3 | Ne4 |
| 5. | Be3 | Qb4+ |
| 6. | Bd2 | Qd4 |
How the Queen's Pawn Game: Opening Trap (Hondema–Baljon) works
The Queen's Pawn Game: Opening Trap (Hondema–Baljon) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Queen's pawn game. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 6, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 c5 3.d5 Qb6 4.b3 Ne4 5.Be3 Qb4+ 6.Bd2 Qd4. 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 (Hondema - Baljon, 1977). 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 (Hondema–Baljon) 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.