Final position — Black is winning
Rubinstein Trap
Black wins in 13 moves with a decisive material gain.
The moves
| 1. | d4 | d5 |
| 2. | c4 | e6 |
| 3. | Nc3 | Nf6 |
| 4. | Bg5 | Be7 |
| 5. | e3 | O-O |
| 6. | Nf3 | Nbd7 |
| 7. | cxd5 | exd5 |
| 8. | Bd3 | c6 |
| 9. | O-O | Re8 |
| 10. | Rc1 | h6 |
| 11. | Bf4 | Nh5 |
| 12. | Nxd5 | cxd5 |
| 13. | Bc7 |
How the Rubinstein Trap works
The Rubinstein Trap is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Queen's Gambit Declined, 4.Bg5. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 13, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 O-O 6.Nf3 Nbd7 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bd3 c6 9.O-O Re8 10.Rc1 h6 11.Bf4 Nh5 12.Nxd5 cxd5 13.Bc7. 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.
Recognising this pattern early lets you either spring it as Black or calmly sidestep it when you are White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Rubinstein 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.