Final position — White is winning
Tarrasch Trap
White wins in 13 moves with a decisive material gain.
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bb5 | a6 |
| 4. | Ba4 | Nf6 |
| 5. | O-O | Nxe4 |
| 6. | d4 | b5 |
| 7. | Bb3 | d5 |
| 8. | dxe5 | Be6 |
| 9. | c3 | Be7 |
| 10. | Re1 | O-O |
| 11. | Nd4 | Qd7 |
| 12. | Nxe6 | fxe6 |
| 13. | Rxe4 |
How the Tarrasch Trap works
The Tarrasch Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Ruy Lopez. In this line White wins decisive material by move 13, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.c3 Be7 10.Re1 O-O 11.Nd4 Qd7 12.Nxe6 fxe6 13.Rxe4. 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.
Recognising this pattern early lets you either spring it as White or calmly sidestep it when you are Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Tarrasch 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.