Final position — White is winning
Ruy Lopez: Bxf7 Sacrifice
White wins in 10 moves with a decisive material gain. (Belanger - Boies, Charny 1989)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bb5 | a6 |
| 4. | Ba4 | Nf6 |
| 5. | O-O | Nxe4 |
| 6. | d4 | b5 |
| 7. | Bb3 | exd4 |
| 8. | Nxd4 | Nc5 |
| 9. | Nxc6 | dxc6 |
| 10. | Bxf7+ |
How the Ruy Lopez: Bxf7 Sacrifice works
The Ruy Lopez: Bxf7 Sacrifice is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Ruy Lopez. In this line White wins decisive material by 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 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 exd4 8.Nxd4 Nc5 9.Nxc6 dxc6 10.Bxf7+. 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 (Belanger - Boies, Charny 1989). 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 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.