Final position — Black is winning
Queen's Gambit Declined: White Queen Trap
Black wins in 9 moves with a decisive material gain. (Corrie - Wall, Thailand 1974)
The moves
| 1. | d4 | d5 |
| 2. | c4 | e6 |
| 3. | Nc3 | Nf6 |
| 4. | Bg5 | h6 |
| 5. | Bh4 | g5 |
| 6. | Bg3 | Be7 |
| 7. | Nb5 | O-O |
| 8. | Nxc7 | Bb4+ |
| 9. | Qd2 | Bxd2+ |
How the Queen's Gambit Declined: White Queen Trap works
The Queen's Gambit Declined: White Queen Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Queen's gambit declined. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 9, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 h6 5.Bh4 g5 6.Bg3 Be7 7.Nb5 O-O 8.Nxc7 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 (Corrie - Wall, Thailand 1974). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Queen's Gambit Declined: 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.