Final position — Black is winning
Sicilian Defence: Opening Trap (Wittig–Gelzenleichter)
Black wins in 7 moves with a decisive material gain. (Wittig - Gelzenleichter, Dortmund 1987)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | c5 |
| 2. | c3 | d5 |
| 3. | exd5 | Qxd5 |
| 4. | Nf3 | e6 |
| 5. | d4 | Nf6 |
| 6. | Bd3 | c4 |
| 7. | Qa4+ | b5 |
How the Sicilian Defence: Opening Trap (Wittig–Gelzenleichter) works
The Sicilian Defence: Opening Trap (Wittig–Gelzenleichter) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Sicilian Defence. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 7, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.Nf3 e6 5.d4 Nf6 6.Bd3 c4 7.Qa4+ b5. 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 (Wittig - Gelzenleichter, Dortmund 1987). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Sicilian Defence: Opening Trap (Wittig–Gelzenleichter) 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.