Final position — White is winning
Ruy Lopez: Opening Trap
White wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain. (Fuller - Horton, Charlotte 1979)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bb5 | a6 |
| 4. | Ba4 | b5 |
| 5. | Bb3 | a5 |
| 6. | a4 | b4 |
| 7. | d4 | Bd6 |
| 8. | dxe5 | Nxe5 |
| 9. | Nxe5 | Bxe5 |
| 10. | Qd5 |
How the Ruy Lopez: Opening Trap works
The Ruy Lopez: Opening Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Ruy Lopez. In this line White wins decisive material by move 10, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 b5 5.Bb3 a5 6.a4 b4 7.d4 Bd6 8.dxe5 Nxe5 9.Nxe5 Bxe5 10.Qd5. 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 (Fuller - Horton, Charlotte 1979). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Ruy Lopez: 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.