Chess Openings Lab
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Tarrasch Trap

In the Open Ruy Lopez, Black puts the queen on d7 behind the d5 pawn. White trades on e6 and then gives a rook on e4, and when the d5 pawn takes it, the d-file opens and the white queen wins the black queen.

Opening
Ruy Lopez: Open
Moves
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.c3 Be7 10.Re1 O-O 11.Nd4 Qd7 12.Nxe6 fxe6 13.Rxe4 dxe4 14.Qxd7
Set by
White
The mistake
11...Qd7
Checked
every move legal; result confirmed by Stockfish 17.1

How the trap works

The Tarrasch Trap comes from the Open Ruy Lopez: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.c3 Be7 10.Re1 O-O 11.Nd4. Black's knight on e4 is attacked by the rook on e1, and the bishop on e6 is attacked by the d4 knight.

  • 11...Qd7? is the mistake. The queen defends e6, but it also stands on the d-file behind the d5 pawn.
  • 12.Nxe6 fxe6 removes the bishop. The pawn on d5 is now all that separates the queens on d1 and d7.
  • 13.Rxe4! gives the rook for the knight. If Black takes, the d-file opens.
  • 13...dxe4 takes the rook, and 14.Qxd7 takes the queen, which has no defender on d7.

The tactical idea is line opening: White forces the d5 pawn to leave the file. The pawn is overloaded, because it guards e4 and also shields the queen.

The exact moment it goes wrong is 11...Qd7. Before it, the evaluation is level. After it, White is clearly winning, and the evaluation grows again after 13...dxe4. Black should have traded the strong knight with ...Nxd4. After the c-pawn recaptures, the bishop on e6 is safe and the queen does not need to step onto the d-file.

For White, the lesson is to look for a sacrifice that pulls a pawn off a file. For Black, it is to avoid putting the queen behind a pawn that has another job, especially on a file with the enemy queen.

How Black avoids it

Black should trade the active knight with ...Nxd4. After the c-pawn recaptures, the bishop on e6 is no longer attacked, and the queen can stay off the d-file.

Questions

How does the Tarrasch Trap work?

After 11...Qd7 12.Nxe6 fxe6, the d5 pawn is the only thing between the queens. 13.Rxe4 attacks the knight, and 13...dxe4 opens the d-file so that 14.Qxd7 wins the queen.

What is the losing move in the Tarrasch Trap?

Black's mistake is 11...Qd7. Black should trade the active knight with ...Nxd4. After the c-pawn recaptures, the bishop on e6 is no longer attacked, and the queen can stay off the d-file.

Is the Tarrasch Trap worth playing for?

Yes for White. 11.Nd4 keeps the game level, so White can play it without risk and wait for 11...Qd7.

Where it comes from

More opening traps