Final position — White is winning
Latvian Gambit: Nxf2 Sacrifice
White wins in 9 moves with a decisive material gain. (Robins - Anders, Postal 1970)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | Nf3 | f5 |
| 3. | Bc4 | d5 |
| 4. | Bxd5 | Nf6 |
| 5. | Bb3 | Nxe4 |
| 6. | Nxe5 | Nxf2 |
| 7. | Qh5+ | g6 |
| 8. | Bf7+ | Ke7 |
| 9. | Qg5+ |
How the Latvian Gambit: Nxf2 Sacrifice works
The Latvian Gambit: Nxf2 Sacrifice is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Latvian Gambit. In this line White wins decisive material by move 9, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Bc4 d5 4.Bxd5 Nf6 5.Bb3 Nxe4 6.Nxe5 Nxf2 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Bf7+ Ke7 9.Qg5+. 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 (Robins - Anders, Postal 1970). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Latvian Gambit: Nxf2 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.