Traps in the Exchange Variation | Ruy Lopez | Chess Openings | IM Andrey Ostrovskiy

[@chesslessons8730]

Essential Traps to learn from Thank you Sir 😃

[@Chessfactor]

You are welcome.

[@nicky2coats]

If you're rated under say, 1300, the best trap in the Exchange Ruy for Black is the opening itself. There are so many people who think they're clever by exchanging off your knight and and then taking the no-longer-protected e-pawn. They don't see 5. ...Qd4! 6. Nf3 Qxe4+ 7. Qe2 Qxe2 8. Kxe2 and material is equal but White's king feels pretty stupid on e2 and unable to castle. This should be enough of an advantage to win against anyone at the skill level to play the Exchange but never bothered to learn why you can't take the pawn.

[@alisonanderson4732]

Tbh, if they are at the skill level to fall into qd4, then by default their opponent will also be similar strength - so probably U1300. After the dust settles and the king is on e2, it’s equal material and probably -1 at most due to the awkward white king. That advantage is negligible sub 1300. Most people in that range are capable of blundering a piece, let alone allowing a -1 positional advantage fade away over 10 or so moves.

[@nicky2coats]

@@alisonanderson4732 Hate to admit it but youre right. I still lose half the time when someone falls into this “trap”. At least it gives you an open game.

[@tellahsage6477]

The other guy's point is why i like playing Qg5 in that position instead of Qd4 (forking g2 and the knight). It immediately creates much more problems for white and ruins the kingside. If your opponent is careless he might even lose his knight or his rook in the sharp tactics that follow.

[@pcb5358]

Please tell me the name of those traps.. Thank you..

[@Chessfactor]

Not every trap has a name 🙂.

[@emregeylani]

Thanks Andrey, nice video. May i have a suggestion for a video? As club level players we sometimes fail to create plans (start moving pawns or attack/defend weaknesses ie.) It would be really useful if you can explain some sample positions for us.

[@Chessfactor]

Thanks for the suggestion and your continuous support. We will definitely prepare a video series on that for KZbin. Planning is a very important topic that we also cover on our website. Let us know if you have any questions.