Final position — Black is winning
Queen Pawn Counter Gambit: White Queen Trap
Black wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain. (Solderberg - Allen, Postal)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | d5 |
| 3. | exd5 | Bd6 |
| 4. | Nc3 | Nf6 |
| 5. | d4 | e4 |
| 6. | Ne5 | h6 |
| 7. | Nb5 | Bxe5 |
| 8. | dxe5 | Nxd5 |
| 9. | Qxd5 | Qxd5 |
| 10. | Nxc7+ |
How the Queen Pawn Counter Gambit: White Queen Trap works
The Queen Pawn Counter Gambit: White Queen Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Queen Pawn Counter 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 d5 3.exd5 Bd6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.d4 e4 6.Ne5 h6 7.Nb5 Bxe5 8.dxe5 Nxd5 9.Qxd5 Qxd5 10.Nxc7+. 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 (Solderberg - Allen, Postal). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Queen Pawn Counter 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.