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Final position — White is winning

Sicilian Defence

Sicilian Defence: Black Queen Trap

White wins in 12 moves with a decisive material gain. (Smirin - Afek, Israel 1992)

The moves

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Qb6 4.Nc3 Nd4 5.Nxd4 cxd4 6.Nd5 Qd8 7.Qh5 a6 8.Qe5 f6 9.Nc7+ Kf7 10.Qd5+ e6 11.Nxe6 dxe6 12.Qxd8
1.e4c5
2.Nf3Nc6
3.Bb5Qb6
4.Nc3Nd4
5.Nxd4cxd4
6.Nd5Qd8
7.Qh5a6
8.Qe5f6
9.Nc7+Kf7
10.Qd5+e6
11.Nxe6dxe6
12.Qxd8

How the Sicilian Defence: Black Queen Trap works

The Sicilian Defence: Black Queen Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Sicilian Defence. In this line White wins decisive material by move 12, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Qb6 4.Nc3 Nd4 5.Nxd4 cxd4 6.Nd5 Qd8 7.Qh5 a6 8.Qe5 f6 9.Nc7+ Kf7 10.Qd5+ e6 11.Nxe6 dxe6 12.Qxd8. 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 (Smirin - Afek, Israel 1992). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Sicilian Defence: 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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