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Final position — White is winning

Italian Game

Bishop safari gambit

White wins in 8 moves with a decisive material gain. (Traps - Bishop safari gambit - C50 - https://lichess.org/@/MaxMalkov)

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Na5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Nxg6 hxg6 8.Qxh8
1.e4e5
2.Nf3Nc6
3.Bc4Na5
4.Bxf7+Kxf7
5.Nxe5+Ke8
6.Qh5+g6
7.Nxg6hxg6
8.Qxh8

How the Bishop safari gambit works

The Bishop safari gambit is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Italian Game. In this line White wins decisive material by move 8, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.

The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Na5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Nxg6 hxg6 8.Qxh8. 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 (Traps - Bishop safari gambit - C50 - https://lichess.org/@/MaxMalkov). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.

Practice this trap move-by-move

Open the Bishop safari gambit 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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