Final position — Black is winning
Robatsch Defence: Opening Trap (Seltzer–A. Ivanov)
Black wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain. (Seltzer - A. Ivanov, Philadelphia 1993)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | g6 |
| 2. | d4 | Bg7 |
| 3. | Nf3 | d6 |
| 4. | c4 | Bg4 |
| 5. | Be2 | Nc6 |
| 6. | Be3 | e5 |
| 7. | Nxe5 | dxe5 |
| 8. | Bxg4 | exd4 |
| 9. | Bf4 | h5 |
| 10. | Be2 | d3 |
How the Robatsch Defence: Opening Trap (Seltzer–A. Ivanov) works
The Robatsch Defence: Opening Trap (Seltzer–A. Ivanov) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Robatsch Defence. 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 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nf3 d6 4.c4 Bg4 5.Be2 Nc6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nxe5 dxe5 8.Bxg4 exd4 9.Bf4 h5 10.Be2 d3. 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 (Seltzer - A. Ivanov, Philadelphia 1993). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Robatsch Defence: Opening Trap (Seltzer–A. Ivanov) 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.