abcdefgh

Final position — Black is winning

Gruenfeld Defence

Anton the Pawn Attacks the Queen

Black wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain. (50 Opening Traps,Part 1 - Anton the Pawn Attacks the Queen - D97 - https://lichess.org/@/CHESSLUCAFD)

The moves

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 O-O 7.e4 a6 8.a4 b5 9.axb5 axb5 10.Qxb5 Rxa1
1.d4Nf6
2.c4g6
3.Nc3d5
4.Nf3Bg7
5.Qb3dxc4
6.Qxc4O-O
7.e4a6
8.a4b5
9.axb5axb5
10.Qxb5Rxa1

How the Anton the Pawn Attacks the Queen works

The Anton the Pawn Attacks the Queen is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Gruenfeld Defence. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 10, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.

The full sequence runs 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 O-O 7.e4 a6 8.a4 b5 9.axb5 axb5 10.Qxb5 Rxa1. 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 (50 Opening Traps,Part 1 - Anton the Pawn Attacks the Queen - D97 - https://lichess.org/@/CHESSLUCAFD). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Anton the Pawn Attacks the Queen 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.

More Gruenfeld Defence traps

← Browse all chess traps