Ruy Lopez, Noah's Ark Trap Ruy Lopez, Noah's Ark Trap The Noah's Ark Trap is a chess opening trap in the Ruy Lopez. The name is actually used to describe a family of traps in the Ruy Lopez in which a white bishop is trapped on the b3-square by black pawns. The origin of the name is uncertain. The shape of the black pawns on a6, b5, and c4 may resemble an ark, or the name may suggest that the trap is "as old as Noah's Ark". Even chess masters have occasionally fallen victim to this trap. An example is a game between Endre Steiner
Roderigo Lopez Roderigo Lopez Roderigo Lopez (also called Ruy Lopes, Ruy Lopez or Roger Lopez; c. 1517 – 7 June 1594) served as physician-in-chief to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 1581 until his death by execution, having been found guilty of plotting to poison her. A Portuguese "converso" or New Christian of Jewish ancestry, he is the only royal doctor in English history to have been executed, and may have inspired the character of Shylock in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice", which was written within four years of his death. The son of a Portuguese royal physician of Jewish descent, Lopez