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Final position — White is winning

Pirc Defence

Pirc Defence: Opening Trap (BELLE–Van der Giessen)

White wins in 6 moves with a decisive material gain. (BELLE - Van der Giessen, Netherlands 1978)

The moves

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nd7 3.Nf3 e5 4.Bc4 Be7 5.dxe5 dxe5 6.Qd5
1.e4d6
2.d4Nd7
3.Nf3e5
4.Bc4Be7
5.dxe5dxe5
6.Qd5

How the Pirc Defence: Opening Trap (BELLE–Van der Giessen) works

The Pirc Defence: Opening Trap (BELLE–Van der Giessen) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Pirc Defence. In this line White wins decisive material by move 6, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nd7 3.Nf3 e5 4.Bc4 Be7 5.dxe5 dxe5 6.Qd5. 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 (BELLE - Van der Giessen, Netherlands 1978). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Pirc Defence: Opening Trap (BELLE–Van der Giessen) 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.

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