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Final position — White is winning

Giuoco Piano

Giuoco Piano: Bxf7 Sacrifice

White wins in 9 moves with a decisive material gain. (Wall - SmartAttack, Internet 1996)

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 d6 5.d4 Bb6 6.dxe5 Nxe5 7.Nxe5 dxe5 8.Bxf7+ Kxf7 9.Qxd8
1.e4e5
2.Nf3Nc6
3.Bc4Bc5
4.c3d6
5.d4Bb6
6.dxe5Nxe5
7.Nxe5dxe5
8.Bxf7+Kxf7
9.Qxd8

How the Giuoco Piano: Bxf7 Sacrifice works

The Giuoco Piano: Bxf7 Sacrifice is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Giuoco Piano. In this line White wins decisive material by move 9, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 d6 5.d4 Bb6 6.dxe5 Nxe5 7.Nxe5 dxe5 8.Bxf7+ Kxf7 9.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 (Wall - SmartAttack, Internet 1996). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Giuoco Piano: 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.

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