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Final position — Black is winning

King's pawn opening

King's Pawn Opening: Bxf7 Sacrifice (Lusgin–Joffe)

Black wins in 5 moves with a decisive material gain. (Lusgin - Joffe, Minsk 1968)

The moves

1.e4 d6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bc4 Nd7 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Ng5+
1.e4d6
2.Nf3g6
3.Bc4Nd7
4.Bxf7+Kxf7
5.Ng5+

How the King's Pawn Opening: Bxf7 Sacrifice (Lusgin–Joffe) works

The King's Pawn Opening: Bxf7 Sacrifice (Lusgin–Joffe) is a classic chess opening trap arising from the King's pawn opening. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 5, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 d6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bc4 Nd7 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Ng5+. 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 (Lusgin - Joffe, Minsk 1968). 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 Pawn Opening: Bxf7 Sacrifice (Lusgin–Joffe) 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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