Final position — Black is winning
Benko Gambit: Wins a Pawn
Black wins in 16 moves with a decisive material gain. (J Reyes - Wall, San Antonio 1992)
The moves
| 1. | d4 | Nf6 |
| 2. | c4 | c5 |
| 3. | d5 | b5 |
| 4. | Na3 | b4 |
| 5. | Nc2 | d6 |
| 6. | e3 | e6 |
| 7. | Bd3 | exd5 |
| 8. | Qf3 | Bg4 |
| 9. | Qf4 | dxc4 |
| 10. | Bxc4 | d5 |
| 11. | Qe5+ | Be6 |
| 12. | Bb5+ | Nbd7 |
| 13. | Bc6 | Rc8 |
| 14. | Bxd7+ | Qxd7 |
| 15. | Nf3 | h6 |
| 16. | O-O | Bd6 |
How the Benko Gambit: Wins a Pawn works
The Benko Gambit: Wins a Pawn is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Benko Gambit. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 16, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.Na3 b4 5.Nc2 d6 6.e3 e6 7.Bd3 exd5 8.Qf3 Bg4 9.Qf4 dxc4 10.Bxc4 d5 11.Qe5+ Be6 12.Bb5+ Nbd7 13.Bc6 Rc8 14.Bxd7+ Qxd7 15.Nf3 h6 16.O-O Bd6. 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 (J Reyes - Wall, San Antonio 1992). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Benko Gambit: Wins a Pawn 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.