Final position — White is winning
Benko Gambit: Opening Trap
White wins in 12 moves with a decisive material gain. (Gokhale - Cadillon, Linares 1997)
The moves
| 1. | d4 | Nf6 |
| 2. | c4 | c5 |
| 3. | d5 | b5 |
| 4. | Nf3 | bxc4 |
| 5. | Nc3 | g6 |
| 6. | e4 | d6 |
| 7. | Bxc4 | Bg7 |
| 8. | e5 | dxe5 |
| 9. | Nxe5 | O-O |
| 10. | O-O | Nbd7 |
| 11. | Nc6 | Qe8 |
| 12. | Re1 |
How the Benko Gambit: Opening Trap works
The Benko Gambit: Opening Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Benko Gambit. In this line White wins decisive material by move 12, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.Nf3 bxc4 5.Nc3 g6 6.e4 d6 7.Bxc4 Bg7 8.e5 dxe5 9.Nxe5 O-O 10.O-O Nbd7 11.Nc6 Qe8 12.Re1. 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 (Gokhale - Cadillon, Linares 1997). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Benko Gambit: Opening 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.