Questions tagged [sacrifice]
Question relating to sacrificing material in chess
84 questions
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Can sacrificing a Queen be considered a brilliant move?
Knowing that a brilliant move is only given out by sacrificing a piece, is there any position or past game that had given out a brilliant move via Queen sacrifice?
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When is it worth it to sacrifice a knight or bishop in order to force the opponent to move the king down a rank and lose castling rights?
Specifically, I'm confused why the game review on chess.com says this move was a blunder:
I did end up losing the knight, but that's what I expected to happen. I did it on purpose to force the king ...
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Is it ever advantageous to make a trade that loses material for the sake a positional advantage?
For example, trading a bishop or a knight for a pawn for the purpose of breaking up the opponents pawn structure. Is this sort of thing ever a good idea? If so, could you provide some examples (or ...
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My next question on a sacrifice
I'm just staring at this sacrifice without seeing the solution, anyone kindly help to me ?
[fen "4r1k1/3b1p2/6p1/1BPpn2p/7n/r3PqN1/2Q1RPPP/1R3NK1 w - - 0 1"]
[Startflipped "1"]
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How is it possible that my level in chess.com is 1500 with and without sacrificing queen in the first 3 moves? [closed]
I have two phones and two different accounts on chess.com. In the first one I always play naturally and my level is around 1500. But in the second phone I always sacrifice the queen in the first 3 ...
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Why is the next best move Nf3, instead of moving Bg5?
I have reached to this position starting from Queens' Gambit, and in this position Stockfish 14 is suggesting that the next best move is to bring my knight out instead of moving my dark squared bishop,...
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Why would white play Qf5
I was playing the following puzzle on lichess playing the black pieces and found the move Bf5, expecting either Qe2 or Qe3, resulting in me taking the white bishop on c2 and completing the puzzle.
The ...
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Why does GM Larry claim that this sacrifice is brilliant?
On this webpage GM Larry Kaufman claimed (at least up to 2012) that the following move was brilliant:
[Title "Kasparov vs Shirov (Horgen 1994)"]
[FEN "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/...
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Why did white sacrifice knight in this Nimzowitsch's 1905 game?
Saw this image in a WhatsApp group. Initially it looks attractive with a possibility of a "smothered mate", but I am unable to find out if white can really survive for several variations.
[...
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History of this queen sacrifice in the 4 Knights
Arbiting an IM norm tournament last week I came across this position in one of the games. Both White's queen and bishop on a4 were en prise and it was Black's move!
My initial reaction was that I must ...
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Why is sacrificing an extra pawn good for White in the Goring gambit but bad in the Smith-Morra gambit?
In both the Smith-Morra (accepted) and Goring gambit lines, white offers a pawn on c3. If Black takes the pawn on c3, White can play Bc4, offering a second pawn in exchange for rapid development with ...
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c5-c4 pawn sacrifice in Benoni line
Consider the following line
[FEN ""]
[StartPly "23"]
[StartFlipped "1"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. Bd3 Bg7 8. Nge2 O-O 9. O-O Nbd7 10....
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Why does Stockfish recommend this queen sacrifice in this puzzle?
[Variant "From Position"]
[FEN "r1b1r1k1/pp3ppp/2p5/2Ppn1q1/1P1Q2B1/4P1N1/P4PPP/R4RK1 w - - 9 18"]
[Title ""]
1. Bxc8 Raxc8 2. f4
https://lichess.org/training/fRzq3
The ...
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Did Lichess Level 8 truly lose this game?
Jonathan Scrantz played this game against Lichess Level 8:
[Title "Jonathan Scrantz VS Stockfish Level 8 (3000) after 9. Kh1"]
[FEN ""]
[Startply "17"]
1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 ...
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Is this theoretical novelty double-piece sacrifice actually sound?
Working my way through Hannes Langrock's book on the modern Morra Gambit (second edition), I came across an interesting sacrifice that he believes is at best worth a draw. Indeed that's also Stockfish'...
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In this game, should white sacrifice their bishop to expose black's king?
I (black) reached this position in a game and realised that black's king would be totally exposed if white's bishop decided to take the pawn (1. Bxh6 gxh6).
Is the smart move here for white to ...
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How is c4 the best move in this position?
[FEN "rn2r1k1/pp2qpp1/3b1nbp/2pp4/6PP/1B1PBP2/PPPQNK2/RN2R3 b KQkq - 0 14"]
14... c4 15. dxc4 Nxg4+
I set up the above position in Stockfish and the initial analysis was that c4 was the ...
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Why doesn't greek gift work in Pozsonyi vs Pataki 2005? Or does it?
original game. i'm asking about move 21.
[Event "Ch Hungary (team) 2005/06"]
[Site "HUN"]
[Date "2005.12.04"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Istvan Pozsonyi"]
[...
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What is the the idea behind this popular double pawn sacrifice line In the Evans Gambit?
I am learning a bit of Evans Gambit theory lately, and when exploring a Master level games database, I have found this surprising
line.
[FEN ""]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. ...
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Does this bishop sac when your knight is pinned to your queen have a name?
This is a common tactic in various openings. It goes like this:
A bishop pins your knight to your queen
You sacrifice your bishop with check to attract the king forward
You give a check with your &...
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Why is ...d5 the best move for Black?
I am learning chess and came across this position. Stockfish 11+ HCE (Depth 32/99) and Stockfish 13 (Depth 31/47) both says ...d5 is the best move for Black. But the next move is exd6 e.p., leaving ...
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Why does Stockfish lose against this piece sacrifice in the Berlin Defense?
In a recent YouTube video, Jonathan Schrantz presents an absurd (?) piece sacrifice in the Berlin Defense, which Stockfish seems to vastly underestimate.
The engine evaluation shows around -4, until ...
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Bishop sacrifices to prevent castling
I have neen playing a higher amount of online chess as opposed to club chess lately and something I have noticed is a significant increase in Bishop sacrifices to prevent kingside castling. Here is ...
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What is the probability that an exchange sacrifice leads to a win?
I seem to win a lot of games when I sac a rook for a bishop or a knight. Is this just me, or do exchange sacrifices often lead to a win?
I realize that any fool or noob can go overboard and do it all ...
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Seeking an explanation for Nezhmetidnov’s queen sacrifice
In this game, Rashid Nezhmetidnov sacrificed his queen for a bishop. I see that White gets an outpost on d5, but I can't find anything else that justifises the sacrifice. Is there any other ...
user24344
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Deducing brilliant sacrifices
Is it possible to deduce brilliant sacrifices by analyzing a match's PGN along with the corresponding evaluation score after each move? If not, what other non-visual information would be needed to be ...
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Where can I find this game with a sacrifice followed by a long series of checks leading to a discovered mate? [duplicate]
I am looking for a chess game and frankly, I really know very little about it. I remember seeing it somewhere on the Internet.
The game goes something like this. A player (either White or Black) ...
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Why doesn't Lichess' Stockfish suggest this bishop sacrifice?
I arrived at the following position in an online game after the opponent left a queen hanging.
[FEN "r1b2r2/pp1p1ppk/2n1p3/6B1/2P5/5N2/PQ3PPP/R4RK1 w - - 0 16"]
In the game, I played 16. Bf6 with ...
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Idea behind e-pawn sacrifice in Open Sicilian: Najdorf, Freak Attack (6. Rg1)?
There are 10 games in my database with this variation played on a high level and the White score is +6-2=2, almost always White is the elo-wise weaker player. The highest rated White player to employ ...
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Queenless Imbalanced Middlegame
I was analyzing the following position for one of the correspondence games that I am playing. In the position, white is up 2 pawns and with my limited understanding, I can't see any real compensation ...
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Term for sacrifice that causes opponent to block an escape square?
A decoy or deflection typically lure an opponent's piece away from a square. What is it called when you sacrifice in order to lure/force an opponent to a certain square in order to prevent another ...
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Is my positional pawn sacrifice justified?
Today I have played a game and the following position was reached:
[fen "rn1qk2r/p4ppp/1p2bb2/1Q1pp3/8/3P2P1/PP2PPBP/RN2K1NR b - - 0 1"]
1... Nd7 2. Bxd5 a6 3. Qb3 Nc5 4. Bc6+ Ke7 5.Qa3 Rc8 6. Bg2 ...
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Is there a set of general rules of material sacrifice?
I happen to be playing a game where I am up in material, but my position is weak (several pieces are trapped and cannot be developed).
I have some lines of very slow development I can play where I ...
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What are the merits of Anand's exchange sacrifice in game 9 of 1995 World Chess Championship?
From various sources (some of which I have mentioned below) I have heard Vishy Anand's 27th move in game 9 of 1995 world chess championship match against Gary Kasparov , which was an exchange ...
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Anderssen's 'immortal game'
I came across Anderssen's 'immortal game':
[FEN ""]
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Bc4 Qh4+ 4. Kf1 b5
5. Bxb5 Nf6 6. Nf3 Qh6 7. d3 Nh5 8. Nh4 Qg5
9. Nf5 c6 10. g4 Nf6 11. Rg1 cxb5 12. h4 Qg6
13. h5 Qg5 14. ...
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Idea behind sacrifice pawn
I would like to know what compensation White gets after the pawn sacrifice 6. b4.
To me, giving back the pawn just for a tempo, i.e. Bb5, does not seem to be enough.
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Could this kind of inaccurate sacrifice be countered?
I recently played a Lichess Bullet Game as White.
[FEN ""]
1.e4 e5 2.h4 Nc6 3.d3 Nf6 4.g3 Bc5 5.Nc3 d6 6.a3 O-O 7.b4 Bxf2+ 8.Kxf2 Ng4+ 9.Ke1 a6 10.Bh3 Nd4 11.Bxg4 b5 12.Bxc8 Rxc8 13.Nge2 Nxe2 14....
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Is targeting the f7/f2 square in bughouse a good rule of thumb?
In Bughouse, players often target the f2/f7 square; it is common to see a minor sack on f7, followed by a knight on g5 delivering check and breaching through the opponent's defenses.
I recently ...
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Pawn Sacrifice Justification
A few weeks ago, Magnus Carlsen (White) played against Anish Giri (Black), and this position was reached on the board on move 17 after black had played exf4:
Here is the full game:
[White "Magnus ...
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Is the exchange of a rook for two minor pieces really worth it?
I recently played a game with my friend I wish I had memorized the entire game, but, unfortunately, my memory isn’t too good.
In summary, I was in a really tight position, and playing as black. I had ...
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Why does white sacrifice their queen in this exercise?
I was doing this exercise on lichess, but I don't see why the best move for white is to sacrifice their queen in exchange for a knight (after Nh3+):
[title "lichess puzzle 61517"]
[fen "4r1k1/...
user18387
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Are there any gambits involving sacrificing a piece?
My impression of the word "gambit" is the sacrifice of a pawn or several pawns at the opening stage of a chess game. However, based on the definition on Wikipedia, a gambit (from ancient ...
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Is this a sound elephant offer?
In the following dobutsu shogi position, is Gc3xc2 a bad move?
ABC
+---+
1| | g
2|lce|
3|E G|
4| L | *C
+---+
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Is this knight sacrifice a good idea?
I often play the following variation with black when I play blitz. Somehow it refuses the known lines of the Spanish.
It looks like that black is going to be destroyed but almost always I win when I ...
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Why sacrificing a pawn was more preferable over more materialistic moves in Nakamura vs Ding in Altibox Norway Chess 2018?
Why sacrificing a pawn in this situation, 19... h5 is slightly more preferable by engine over more materialistic g6 or Kh8? This is in fact what Ding chose to play actually. Obviously, this is to ...
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How can I get a collection of chess games with a 'Greek gift' sacrifice?
I would like to make a collection of chess games that feature the 'Greek gift' sacrifice. There are few games on chessgames.com annotated with this sacrifice. I could find blogs with individual ...
user14405
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Has anyone had positive results using the Ruy Lopez Norwegian variation nightingale gambit?
There is a variation of the Ruy lopez that I have recently played and made two sacrifices and ended up with a very good game, and I wanted to know if anyone else could or have tried it? Here is the ...
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How do you 'calculate' compensation in chess
Here is another very difficult subject for me that I can't even begin to understand [ incidentally, although I've been playing chess for over 50 years, my current ELO rating is only 1300, hence these ...
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Game analysis: What would motivate a human player to sacrifice White Knight at move 10 in this game?
I am a beginner player (rating on Lichess.org around 1550). While analyzing one of my own games (pasted below), Stockfish calculated that a Knight sacrifice at 10th move is a good idea. I tried ...
user14405
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Counting attackers and defenders, which pieces count?
I've heard multiple times the idea of counting attackers and defenders in estimating whether an attack/sacrifice will succeed. However, I think authors are quite loose in counting who is the attacker ...
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