Final position — Black is winning
Reti Opening: White Queen Trap
Black wins in 15 moves with a decisive material gain. (Wall, Bill - X1000, 1997.??.??)
The moves
| 1. | Nf3 | d5 |
| 2. | d3 | d4 |
| 3. | c3 | dxc3 |
| 4. | Nxc3 | f5 |
| 5. | e3 | g6 |
| 6. | d4 | Bg7 |
| 7. | Bc4 | Nh6 |
| 8. | Qb3 | e6 |
| 9. | Bxe6 | Bxe6 |
| 10. | Qxe6+ | Qe7 |
| 11. | Qc8+ | Kf7 |
| 12. | Qxb7 | Nd7 |
| 13. | Qd5+ | Kf6 |
| 14. | Qxa8 | Rxa8 |
| 15. | Nd5+ |
How the Reti Opening: White Queen Trap works
The Reti Opening: White Queen Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Reti Opening. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 15, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.Nf3 d5 2.d3 d4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 f5 5.e3 g6 6.d4 Bg7 7.Bc4 Nh6 8.Qb3 e6 9.Bxe6 Bxe6 10.Qxe6+ Qe7 11.Qc8+ Kf7 12.Qxb7 Nd7 13.Qd5+ Kf6 14.Qxa8 Rxa8 15.Nd5+. 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 (Wall, Bill - X1000, 1997.??.??). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Reti Opening: White 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.