Final position — White delivers mate
King's Pawn Game: Bxf7 Sacrifice & Mate
White wins in 9 moves by checkmate. (Steinitz - Unknown, New York 1890)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | d4 | d6 |
| 3. | c3 | Bd7 |
| 4. | Bc4 | Nf6 |
| 5. | Qb3 | Qe7 |
| 6. | Qxb7 | Bc6 |
| 7. | Qc8+ | Qd8 |
| 8. | Bxf7+ | Ke7 |
| 9. | Qe6# |
How the King's Pawn Game: Bxf7 Sacrifice & Mate works
The King's Pawn Game: Bxf7 Sacrifice & Mate is a classic chess opening trap arising from the King's pawn game. In this line White delivers checkmate on move 9, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.d4 d6 3.c3 Bd7 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.Qb3 Qe7 6.Qxb7 Bc6 7.Qc8+ Qd8 8.Bxf7+ Ke7 9.Qe6#. 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 (Steinitz - Unknown, New York 1890). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the King's Pawn Game: Bxf7 Sacrifice & Mate 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.