Final position — Black is winning
Ruy Lopez: Wins a Pawn (Ralls–Beaulieu)
Black wins in 11 moves with a decisive material gain. (Ralls - Beaulieu, Internet 1996)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bb5 | Bc5 |
| 4. | c3 | d6 |
| 5. | d4 | exd4 |
| 6. | cxd4 | Bb4+ |
| 7. | Kf1 | Bd7 |
| 8. | Qa4 | Qe7 |
| 9. | d5 | Qxe4 |
| 10. | Nc3 | Qg4 |
| 11. | h3 |
How the Ruy Lopez: Wins a Pawn (Ralls–Beaulieu) works
The Ruy Lopez: Wins a Pawn (Ralls–Beaulieu) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Ruy Lopez. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 11, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Bc5 4.c3 d6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Kf1 Bd7 8.Qa4 Qe7 9.d5 Qxe4 10.Nc3 Qg4 11.h3. 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 (Ralls - Beaulieu, Internet 1996). 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 (Ralls–Beaulieu) 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.