Final position — Black is winning
Centre Game: Bxf7 Sacrifice (Wall–Van Guilder)
Black wins in 9 moves with a decisive material gain. (Wall - Van Guilder, Guam 1974)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | d4 | exd4 |
| 3. | c3 | dxc3 |
| 4. | Bc4 | cxb2 |
| 5. | Bxb2 | Qg5 |
| 6. | Nf3 | Qxg2 |
| 7. | Bxf7+ | Kxf7 |
| 8. | Rg1 | Qh3 |
| 9. | Ng5+ |
How the Centre Game: Bxf7 Sacrifice (Wall–Van Guilder) works
The Centre Game: Bxf7 Sacrifice (Wall–Van Guilder) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Centre Game. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 9, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 Qg5 6.Nf3 Qxg2 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Rg1 Qh3 9.Ng5+. Each move looks reasonable, which is exactly why the trap is so effective over the board — White walks into it while trying to play "normal" developing moves.
This pattern is well known from master and correspondence play (Wall - Van Guilder, Guam 1974). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Centre Game: Bxf7 Sacrifice (Wall–Van Guilder) 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.