Final position — Black is winning
English Opening: White Queen Trap (Mason–Wall)
Black wins in 9 moves with a decisive material gain. (Mason - Wall, Palo Alto 1990)
The moves
| 1. | c4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nc3 | Nf6 |
| 3. | d3 | b6 |
| 4. | b3 | Bb7 |
| 5. | Bb2 | Bc5 |
| 6. | Nd5 | Nxd5 |
| 7. | cxd5 | Bxd5 |
| 8. | Bxe5 | Bb4+ |
| 9. | Qd2 | Bxd2+ |
How the English Opening: White Queen Trap (Mason–Wall) works
The English Opening: White Queen Trap (Mason–Wall) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the English Opening. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 9, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.d3 b6 4.b3 Bb7 5.Bb2 Bc5 6.Nd5 Nxd5 7.cxd5 Bxd5 8.Bxe5 Bb4+ 9.Qd2 Bxd2+. 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 (Mason - Wall, Palo Alto 1990). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the English Opening: White Queen Trap (Mason–Wall) 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.