Final position — Black is winning
Latvian Gambit: White Queen Trap
Black wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain. (analysis by Greco, 1620)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | f5 |
| 3. | Nxe5 | Qe7 |
| 4. | Qh5+ | g6 |
| 5. | Nxg6 | Qxe4+ |
| 6. | Kd1 | Nf6 |
| 7. | Qh3 | hxg6 |
| 8. | Qxh8 | Ng4 |
| 9. | Qh4 | Ne3+ |
| 10. | dxe3 | Qxh4 |
How the Latvian Gambit: White Queen Trap works
The Latvian Gambit: White Queen Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Latvian Gambit. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 10, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Nxe5 Qe7 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Nxg6 Qxe4+ 6.Kd1 Nf6 7.Qh3 hxg6 8.Qxh8 Ng4 9.Qh4 Ne3+ 10.dxe3 Qxh4. 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 (analysis by Greco, 1620). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Latvian Gambit: White Queen 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.