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Final position — Black is winning

Ruy Lopez

The Bishop helps to win the Queen

Black wins in 9 moves with a decisive material gain. (50 Opening Traps,Part 1 - The Bishop helps to win the Queen - C64 - https://lichess.org/@/CHESSLUCAFD)

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Bc5 4.O-O Nge7 5.c3 f5 6.d4 Bb6 7.d5 fxe4 8.Ng5 Nb8 9.Ne6
1.e4e5
2.Nf3Nc6
3.Bb5Bc5
4.O-ONge7
5.c3f5
6.d4Bb6
7.d5fxe4
8.Ng5Nb8
9.Ne6

How the The Bishop helps to win the Queen works

The The Bishop helps to win the Queen 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 Bc5 4.O-O Nge7 5.c3 f5 6.d4 Bb6 7.d5 fxe4 8.Ng5 Nb8 9.Ne6. 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 (50 Opening Traps,Part 1 - The Bishop helps to win the Queen - C64 - https://lichess.org/@/CHESSLUCAFD). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the The Bishop helps to win the Queen 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.

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