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Final position — White is winning

French Defence

French Defence: Opening Trap (C. Hansen–Rodas)

White wins in 6 moves with a decisive material gain. (C. Hansen - Rodas, West Germany 1980)

The moves

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.c4 Ne7 6.c5
1.e4e6
2.d4d5
3.exd5exd5
4.Nf3Bd6
5.c4Ne7
6.c5

How the French Defence: Opening Trap (C. Hansen–Rodas) works

The French Defence: Opening Trap (C. Hansen–Rodas) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the French 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 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.c4 Ne7 6.c5. 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 (C. Hansen - Rodas, West Germany 1980). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the French Defence: Opening Trap (C. Hansen–Rodas) 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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