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Final position — Black is winning

Robatsch Defence

Robatsch Defence: Bxf7 Sacrifice

Black wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain. (Sylvan - Flaata, Copenhagen 1994)

The moves

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Bc4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.e5 dxe5 7.dxe5 Ng4 8.Bxf7+ Kxf7 9.Ng5+ Kg8 10.Qd5+
1.e4g6
2.d4Bg7
3.Nc3d6
4.Bc4Nd7
5.Nf3Ngf6
6.e5dxe5
7.dxe5Ng4
8.Bxf7+Kxf7
9.Ng5+Kg8
10.Qd5+

How the Robatsch Defence: Bxf7 Sacrifice works

The Robatsch Defence: Bxf7 Sacrifice is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Robatsch Defence. In this line Black wins decisive material by move 10, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from White.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Bc4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.e5 dxe5 7.dxe5 Ng4 8.Bxf7+ Kxf7 9.Ng5+ Kg8 10.Qd5+. 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 (Sylvan - Flaata, Copenhagen 1994). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as Black or sidestep it as White.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Robatsch Defence: 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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