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Final position — Black is winning

Chess Opening

Nxf7 Sacrifice

Black wins in 8 moves with a decisive material gain. (Myers - Savon, New York 1959)

The moves

1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nxe4 Nd7 4.Bc4 Ngf6 5.Ng5 e6 6.Qe2 Be7 7.Nxf7 Kxf7 8.Qxe6+
1.Nc3d5
2.e4dxe4
3.Nxe4Nd7
4.Bc4Ngf6
5.Ng5e6
6.Qe2Be7
7.Nxf7Kxf7
8.Qxe6+

How the Nxf7 Sacrifice works

The Nxf7 Sacrifice is a classic chess opening trap. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 8, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.

The full sequence runs 1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nxe4 Nd7 4.Bc4 Ngf6 5.Ng5 e6 6.Qe2 Be7 7.Nxf7 Kxf7 8.Qxe6+. 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 (Myers - Savon, New York 1959). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Nxf7 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.

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