Final position — Black is winning
Ruy Lopez: Wins a Pawn
Black wins in 9 moves with a decisive material gain. (Mantia - Duhlmeier, Cincinnati 1964)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bb5 | a6 |
| 4. | Ba4 | Nf6 |
| 5. | d4 | b5 |
| 6. | Bb3 | Nxd4 |
| 7. | Nxd4 | exd4 |
| 8. | e5 | Ng8 |
| 9. | Qf3 |
How the Ruy Lopez: Wins a Pawn works
The Ruy Lopez: Wins a Pawn is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Ruy Lopez. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 9, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d4 b5 6.Bb3 Nxd4 7.Nxd4 exd4 8.e5 Ng8 9.Qf3. 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 (Mantia - Duhlmeier, Cincinnati 1964). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Ruy Lopez: Wins a Pawn 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.