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Final position — Black is winning

Queen's pawn game

Queen's Pawn Game: Black Queen Trap

Black wins in 8 moves with a decisive material gain. (Wickert - Adams, Islington 1992)

The moves

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 Ne4 3.Bf4 c5 4.d5 Qb6 5.Nd2 Qxb2 6.Ngf3 Nc3 7.Nc4 Nxd1 8.Nxb2 Nxb2
1.d4Nf6
2.Bg5Ne4
3.Bf4c5
4.d5Qb6
5.Nd2Qxb2
6.Ngf3Nc3
7.Nc4Nxd1
8.Nxb2Nxb2

How the Queen's Pawn Game: Black Queen Trap works

The Queen's Pawn Game: Black Queen Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Queen's pawn game. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 8, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.

The full sequence runs 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 Ne4 3.Bf4 c5 4.d5 Qb6 5.Nd2 Qxb2 6.Ngf3 Nc3 7.Nc4 Nxd1 8.Nxb2 Nxb2. 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 (Wickert - Adams, Islington 1992). 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: 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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