Final position — White is winning
Italian Game: Bxf7 Sacrifice
White wins in 9 moves with a decisive material gain. (Kottnauerova - Vilimova, Czech Republic 1992)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bc4 | Bc5 |
| 4. | d3 | Nge7 |
| 5. | Be3 | Bb6 |
| 6. | Nc3 | d6 |
| 7. | Ng5 | Qd7 |
| 8. | Bxf7+ | Kf8 |
| 9. | Be6 |
How the Italian Game: Bxf7 Sacrifice works
The Italian Game: Bxf7 Sacrifice is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Italian Game. 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.d3 Nge7 5.Be3 Bb6 6.Nc3 d6 7.Ng5 Qd7 8.Bxf7+ Kf8 9.Be6. 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 (Kottnauerova - Vilimova, Czech Republic 1992). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Italian Game: 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.