Ruy Lopez, Noah's Ark Trap

The Noah's Ark Trap is a chess opening trap in.

It arises in the Modern Steinitz Defence of the Ruy Lopez 1.e2 -e4 after the moves e7 - e5 -f3 2.Sg1 Sb8 - c6 - b5 a7 - a6 3.Lf1 4.Lb5 a4 - d7 - d6 5.d2 - d4 b7 - b5 -b3 6.La4 Sc6xd4 7.Sf3xd4 e5xd4 if White is now the obvious error 8.Dd1xd4 (better would be either 8.Lb3 -d5 or the pawn sacrifice 8.c2 - c3 ) is penalized. It follows c7 - c5 with ... 8 attack on the white lady, then c5 - c4 together with the profit of the white runner who has no retreat.

Remarkably, wrote the later world champion Alexander Alekhine in his book about the tournament from New York in 1924, that the variant after the sequence 9.Dd4 -d5 ( attack on the black rook a8 and the farmers f7 ) 9 ... Bc8 - e6 10. Qd5 - c6 Be6 - d7 -d5 Bd7 - e6 11.Dc6 through repetition of position to a draw. He overlooked the fact that 11 ... c5 - c4 is now possible because the black rook is now covered. ( In contrast, the above-mentioned pawn sacrifice after 8 c2 - c3 -d5 d4xc3 9 Dd1 Bc8 - e6 c6 - 10 Qd5 Be6 11 - d7 -d5 leads Qc6 ... actually a draw. )

Such was the Tournament of Budapest in 1929 a game of Endre Steiner against José Raúl Capablanca, in the black after the figure income easily won.

The case was actually much earlier known, as it is mentioned in a comment section of the German chess magazine from 1876. Why it was named after Noah's Ark, is controversial. Many chess players see it as an allusion to her " biblical " age. The chess historian Edward Winter deems it possible that it is due to the Hungarian chess player Josef Noa.

A variation of the Noah's Ark case arises from the center attack, the closed- defense after the move order

In the game against Diesan Halas, shields, 1973, showed the failure of the Noah's Ark case, if there still remains the other jumpers pair on the board.

Swell

• Edward Winter: Chess Notes No. 2206, 3042 and 3045

• Opening the case