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Final position — White is winning

Ruy Lopez

Ruy Lopez: Wins a Pawn #2

White wins in 5 moves with a decisive material gain. (Bill Wall (General Variation))

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nxe5 Qd4
1.e4e5
2.Nf3Nc6
3.Bb5a6
4.Bxc6dxc6
5.Nxe5Qd4

How the Ruy Lopez: Wins a Pawn #2 works

The Ruy Lopez: Wins a Pawn #2 is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Ruy Lopez. In this line White wins decisive material by move 5, 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.Nxe5 Qd4. 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 (Bill Wall (General Variation)). 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: Wins a Pawn #2 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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