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Final position — Black is winning

King's gambit

King's Gambit: Nxf7 Sacrifice (Rivaud–Terraz)

Black wins in 7 moves with a decisive material gain. (Rivaud - Terraz, 1991.??.??)

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.f4 d5 3.Nf3 dxe4 4.Nxe5 Nf6 5.Bc4 Nd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qh5+
1.e4e5
2.f4d5
3.Nf3dxe4
4.Nxe5Nf6
5.Bc4Nd5
6.Nxf7Kxf7
7.Qh5+

How the King's Gambit: Nxf7 Sacrifice (Rivaud–Terraz) works

The King's Gambit: Nxf7 Sacrifice (Rivaud–Terraz) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the King's gambit. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 7, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.f4 d5 3.Nf3 dxe4 4.Nxe5 Nf6 5.Bc4 Nd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qh5+. 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 (Rivaud - Terraz, 1991.??.??). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the King's Gambit: Nxf7 Sacrifice (Rivaud–Terraz) 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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