abcdefgh

Final position — White is winning

Philidor's defence

Attack on f7

White wins in 11 moves with a decisive material gain. (50 Opening Traps,Part 1 - Attack on f7 - C41 - https://lichess.org/@/CHESSLUCAFD)

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 c6 4.d4 Nd7 5.c3 Be7 6.Qb3 d5 7.exd5 b5 8.Bd3 exd4 9.cxd4 c5 10.Bxb5 Nf6 11.Bc6
1.e4e5
2.Nf3d6
3.Bc4c6
4.d4Nd7
5.c3Be7
6.Qb3d5
7.exd5b5
8.Bd3exd4
9.cxd4c5
10.Bxb5Nf6
11.Bc6

How the Attack on f7 works

The Attack on f7 is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Philidor's defence. In this line White wins decisive material by move 11, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 c6 4.d4 Nd7 5.c3 Be7 6.Qb3 d5 7.exd5 b5 8.Bd3 exd4 9.cxd4 c5 10.Bxb5 Nf6 11.Bc6. 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 (50 Opening Traps,Part 1 - Attack on f7 - C41 - https://lichess.org/@/CHESSLUCAFD). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Attack on f7 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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