Final position — White is winning
Old Benoni Defence: Opening Trap
White wins in 21 moves with a decisive material gain. (Vogel - Suhl, Germany 1993)
The moves
| 1. | d4 | c5 |
| 2. | d5 | d6 |
| 3. | e4 | g6 |
| 4. | Nc3 | Bg7 |
| 5. | Nf3 | Na6 |
| 6. | Bc4 | Bd7 |
| 7. | a4 | Nc7 |
| 8. | O-O | Rb8 |
| 9. | Bf4 | f6 |
| 10. | Qe2 | Nh6 |
| 11. | e5 | fxe5 |
| 12. | Nxe5 | dxe5 |
| 13. | Bxe5 | Bxe5 |
| 14. | Qxe5 | Nf7 |
| 15. | Qg7 | Bf5 |
| 16. | d6 | e6 |
| 17. | dxc7 | Qxc7 |
| 18. | Rfe1 | Qe7 |
| 19. | Bb5+ | Kd8 |
| 20. | Rad1+ | Kc8 |
| 21. | Rd7 |
How the Old Benoni Defence: Opening Trap works
The Old Benoni Defence: Opening Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Old Benoni Defence. In this line White wins decisive material by move 21, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.d4 c5 2.d5 d6 3.e4 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.Nf3 Na6 6.Bc4 Bd7 7.a4 Nc7 8.O-O Rb8 9.Bf4 f6 10.Qe2 Nh6 11.e5 fxe5 12.Nxe5 dxe5 13.Bxe5 Bxe5 14.Qxe5 Nf7 15.Qg7 Bf5 16.d6 e6 17.dxc7 Qxc7 18.Rfe1 Qe7 19.Bb5+ Kd8 20.Rad1+ Kc8 21.Rd7. 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 (Vogel - Suhl, Germany 1993). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Old Benoni Defence: Opening 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.