Final position — White is winning
Ruy Lopez: White Queen Trap
White wins in 9 moves with a decisive material gain. (Bradley - Bath, 1978.??.??)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bb5 | a6 |
| 4. | Bxc6 | dxc6 |
| 5. | O-O | Bd6 |
| 6. | d4 | Bg4 |
| 7. | dxe5 | Bxe5 |
| 8. | Qxd8+ | Kxd8 |
| 9. | Nxe5 |
How the Ruy Lopez: White Queen Trap works
The Ruy Lopez: White Queen Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Ruy Lopez. In this line White wins decisive material by move 9, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O Bd6 6.d4 Bg4 7.dxe5 Bxe5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nxe5. 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 (Bradley - Bath, 1978.??.??). 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: White Queen 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.