Final position — White is winning
Benko Gambit: Bxf7 Sacrifice
White wins in 15 moves with a decisive material gain. (Polgar, Susan - Ivanov, E., 1981.??.??)
The moves
| 1. | d4 | Nf6 |
| 2. | c4 | c5 |
| 3. | d5 | b5 |
| 4. | Bg5 | Ne4 |
| 5. | Bf4 | Qa5+ |
| 6. | Nd2 | bxc4 |
| 7. | Qc2 | Nf6 |
| 8. | e4 | d6 |
| 9. | Bxc4 | g6 |
| 10. | e5 | Nh5 |
| 11. | Be3 | dxe5 |
| 12. | d6 | Bb7 |
| 13. | Bxf7+ | Kd7 |
| 14. | Qb3 | Bc8 |
| 15. | Qd5 |
How the Benko Gambit: Bxf7 Sacrifice works
The Benko Gambit: Bxf7 Sacrifice is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Benko Gambit. In this line White wins decisive material by move 15, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.Bg5 Ne4 5.Bf4 Qa5+ 6.Nd2 bxc4 7.Qc2 Nf6 8.e4 d6 9.Bxc4 g6 10.e5 Nh5 11.Be3 dxe5 12.d6 Bb7 13.Bxf7+ Kd7 14.Qb3 Bc8 15.Qd5. 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 (Polgar, Susan - Ivanov, E., 1981.??.??). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Benko Gambit: 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.