Final position — White delivers mate
Ruy Lopez: Bxf7 Sacrifice & Mate (Benko–Sawayer)
White wins in 10 moves by checkmate. (Benko - Sawayer, New York 1964)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3. | Bb5 | Nge7 |
| 4. | c3 | a6 |
| 5. | Bc4 | h6 |
| 6. | d4 | d6 |
| 7. | Qb3 | Na5 |
| 8. | Bxf7+ | Kd7 |
| 9. | Nxe5+ | dxe5 |
| 10. | Qe6# |
How the Ruy Lopez: Bxf7 Sacrifice & Mate (Benko–Sawayer) works
The Ruy Lopez: Bxf7 Sacrifice & Mate (Benko–Sawayer) 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 Nge7 4.c3 a6 5.Bc4 h6 6.d4 d6 7.Qb3 Na5 8.Bxf7+ Kd7 9.Nxe5+ dxe5 10.Qe6#. 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 (Benko - Sawayer, New York 1964). 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 (Benko–Sawayer) 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.