About this opening
Ruy Lopez: Noah's Ark Trap is an opening in the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings,
classified under code C71. ECO group C (C00–C99)
covers open games (1.e4 e5) and the French Defence, including the Ruy Lopez, Italian, Scotch and King's Gambit. This particular variation is reached
after 16 half-moves from the
starting position, with the move sequence 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 5. Bb3 d6 6. d4 Nxd4 7. Nxd4 exd4 8. Qxd4 c5.
It belongs to the Ruy Lopez family. Within that family this is a sub-variation (the Noah's Ark Trap line).
The opening sequence in prose form: 1.e4 e5, 2.Nf3 Nc6, 3.Bb5 a6, 4.Ba4 b5, 5.Bb3 d6, 6.d4 Nxd4. From this position the encyclopaedia records no further canonical continuations — practical play branches into unnamed transpositions or returns to the parent line for alternative ideas.
Use the interactive board above to walk through the moves position-by-position. Click any move in the navigation to step backwards, or use the keyboard arrow keys. For statistical data — how often master-level players have reached this position, White's win-rate, draw frequency, Black's score — see the panel in the right column.
Caissly's coverage of C71 extends through every named sub-variation in this line and across all four locales (English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian). Where editorial commentary exists for a specific variation it appears as the page body; otherwise the page presents the structural data, board, and statistics as shown here.