Sacrifice (chess)

abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
e8 black king
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black knight
e7 black bishop
f7 white bishop
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
d6 black pawn
f6 black knight
e5 black pawn
d4 white pawn
e4 white pawn
c3 white knight
f3 white knight
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white king
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
In the Hanham Variation of the Philidor Defence, the move 6.Bxf7+ is a bishop sacrifice.[1]

In chess, a sacrifice is a move that gives up a piece with the objective of gaining tactical or positional compensation in other forms. A sacrifice could also be a deliberate exchange of a chess piece of higher value for an opponent's piece of lower value.

Any chess piece except the king may be sacrificed. Because players usually try to hold on to their own pieces, offering a sacrifice can come as an unpleasant surprise to one's opponent, putting them off balance and causing them to waste precious time trying to calculate whether the sacrifice is sound or not, and whether to accept it. Sacrificing one's queen (the most valuable piece), or a string of pieces, adds to the surprise, and such games can be awarded brilliancy prizes.[2]

  1. ^ Matanović, Aleksandar, ed. (1997). Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings. Vol. C (3rd ed.). Yugoslavia: Chess Informant. p. 216, n.51. ISBN 86-7297-035-7. 6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.Ng5+ Kg8 8.Ne6 Qe8 9.Nxc7 Qg6 10.0-0 (10.Nxa8? Qxg2 −/+) 10...Rb8 11.dxe5 Nxe5 (11...dxe5 12.f4 =/∞) 12.Kh1 Qh5 13.f3 h6 14.Qd4 Nc6 15.Qd3 Qa5 16.N7d5 =/∞ S. Mirkovic
  2. ^ Horowitz, Al (28 December 1967). "Chess:; A 23-Move Bind Winds Up With Brilliant Queen Sacrifice". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 March 2011.