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Final position — Black is winning

Sicilian Defence

Win the Queen

Black wins in 12 moves with a decisive material gain. (50 Opening Traps,Part 1 - Win the Queen - B31 - https://lichess.org/@/CHESSLUCAFD)

The moves

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.O-O Bg7 5.c3 Nf6 6.e5 Nd5 7.d4 cxd4 8.cxd4 O-O 9.Bg5 Qb6 10.Bc4 Qxb2 11.Bxd5 Qxa1 12.Qd2
1.e4c5
2.Nf3Nc6
3.Bb5g6
4.O-OBg7
5.c3Nf6
6.e5Nd5
7.d4cxd4
8.cxd4O-O
9.Bg5Qb6
10.Bc4Qxb2
11.Bxd5Qxa1
12.Qd2

How the Win the Queen works

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

The full sequence runs 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.O-O Bg7 5.c3 Nf6 6.e5 Nd5 7.d4 cxd4 8.cxd4 O-O 9.Bg5 Qb6 10.Bc4 Qxb2 11.Bxd5 Qxa1 12.Qd2. 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 - Win the Queen - B31 - 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 Win 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.

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