Final position — White delivers mate
Ruy Lopez: Bxf7 Sacrifice & Mate
White wins in 10 moves by checkmate. (Martin - Unknown, Tilburg 1980)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bb5 | a6 |
| 4. | Ba4 | b5 |
| 5. | Bb3 | Nd4 |
| 6. | Bxf7+ | Kxf7 |
| 7. | Nxe5+ | Ke6 |
| 8. | Qg4+ | Kxe5 |
| 9. | f4+ | Kxe4 |
| 10. | Nc3# |
How the Ruy Lopez: Bxf7 Sacrifice & Mate works
The Ruy Lopez: Bxf7 Sacrifice & Mate is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Ruy Lopez. In this line White delivers checkmate on move 10, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 b5 5.Bb3 Nd4 6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ Ke6 8.Qg4+ Kxe5 9.f4+ Kxe4 10.Nc3#. 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 (Martin - Unknown, Tilburg 1980). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Ruy Lopez: Bxf7 Sacrifice & Mate 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.