Final position — White is winning
Giuoco Piano: Nxf7 Sacrifice
White wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain. (D'Amore - Aprea, Italy 1970)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bc4 | Bc5 |
| 4. | c3 | Nf6 |
| 5. | d4 | exd4 |
| 6. | cxd4 | Bb6 |
| 7. | Ng5 | O-O |
| 8. | e5 | Ne8 |
| 9. | Qh5 | h6 |
| 10. | Nxf7 |
How the Giuoco Piano: Nxf7 Sacrifice works
The Giuoco Piano: Nxf7 Sacrifice is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Giuoco Piano. In this line White wins decisive material by move 10, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb6 7.Ng5 O-O 8.e5 Ne8 9.Qh5 h6 10.Nxf7. 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 (D'Amore - Aprea, Italy 1970). 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: 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.