Final position — White is winning
Centre Game: Bxf7 Sacrifice
White wins in 12 moves with a decisive material gain. (Gibbs - Davie, England 1916)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | d4 | exd4 |
| 3. | c3 | dxc3 |
| 4. | Bc4 | cxb2 |
| 5. | Bxb2 | d6 |
| 6. | Nf3 | Nf6 |
| 7. | O-O | Nbd7 |
| 8. | e5 | Nxe5 |
| 9. | Nxe5 | dxe5 |
| 10. | Bxf7+ | Ke7 |
| 11. | Ba3+ | Kxf7 |
| 12. | Qxd8 |
How the Centre Game: Bxf7 Sacrifice works
The Centre Game: Bxf7 Sacrifice is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Centre Game. In this line White wins decisive material by move 12, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 d6 6.Nf3 Nf6 7.O-O Nbd7 8.e5 Nxe5 9.Nxe5 dxe5 10.Bxf7+ Ke7 11.Ba3+ Kxf7 12.Qxd8. Each move looks reasonable, which is exactly why the trap is so effective over the board — Black walks into it while trying to play "normal" developing moves.
This pattern is well known from master and correspondence play (Gibbs - Davie, England 1916). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Centre Game: Bxf7 Sacrifice in the Trapsterapp to play it out on a live board, drill it in practice mode, and learn how to avoid it when it's set for you — along with the full library of chess traps and gambits, fully offline.