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Final position — Black is winning

French Defence

French Defence: Bxf2 Sacrifice

Black wins in 8 moves with a decisive material gain. (Haubrich - Orlov, Chicago 1991)

The moves

1.e4 e6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.g3 dxe4 5.dxe4 Bc5 6.Ngf3 Ng4 7.Qe2 Bxf2+ 8.Kd1 Ne3+
1.e4e6
2.d3d5
3.Nd2Nf6
4.g3dxe4
5.dxe4Bc5
6.Ngf3Ng4
7.Qe2Bxf2+
8.Kd1Ne3+

How the French Defence: Bxf2 Sacrifice works

The French Defence: Bxf2 Sacrifice is a classic chess opening trap arising from the French Defence. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 8, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 e6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.g3 dxe4 5.dxe4 Bc5 6.Ngf3 Ng4 7.Qe2 Bxf2+ 8.Kd1 Ne3+. 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 (Haubrich - Orlov, Chicago 1991). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the French Defence: Bxf2 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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