Final position — Black is winning
Ruy Lopez: Knight Fork
Black wins in 11 moves with a decisive material gain. (Pearsall - White, 1935.??.??)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bb5 | Nf6 |
| 4. | O-O | Nxe4 |
| 5. | Re1 | f5 |
| 6. | d3 | Nd6 |
| 7. | Bxc6 | dxc6 |
| 8. | Rxe5+ | Kf7 |
| 9. | Bg5 | Qd7 |
| 10. | Re7+ | Bxe7 |
| 11. | Ne5+ |
How the Ruy Lopez: Knight Fork works
The Ruy Lopez: Knight Fork 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 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.Re1 f5 6.d3 Nd6 7.Bxc6 dxc6 8.Rxe5+ Kf7 9.Bg5 Qd7 10.Re7+ Bxe7 11.Ne5+. 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 (Pearsall - White, 1935.??.??). 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: Knight Fork 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.