Final position — Black is winning
Benoni Defence: Wins a Pawn (Van Gisbergen–Lupu)
Black wins in 11 moves with a decisive material gain. (Van Gisbergen - Lupu, Cappelle 1994)
The moves
| 1. | d4 | Nf6 |
| 2. | c4 | c5 |
| 3. | d5 | e6 |
| 4. | Nc3 | exd5 |
| 5. | cxd5 | Bd6 |
| 6. | e4 | Bc7 |
| 7. | d6 | Ba5 |
| 8. | e5 | Ne4 |
| 9. | Qg4 | Nxc3 |
| 10. | Qxg7 | Ne4+ |
| 11. | Ke2 |
How the Benoni Defence: Wins a Pawn (Van Gisbergen–Lupu) works
The Benoni Defence: Wins a Pawn (Van Gisbergen–Lupu) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Benoni Defence. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 11, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 Bd6 6.e4 Bc7 7.d6 Ba5 8.e5 Ne4 9.Qg4 Nxc3 10.Qxg7 Ne4+ 11.Ke2. 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 (Van Gisbergen - Lupu, Cappelle 1994). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Benoni Defence: Wins a Pawn (Van Gisbergen–Lupu) 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.