Hello everyone! This is an article I wrote a few months ago, tell me what you think! I may adapt it into a video or two!

THE ART OF SACRIFICE

 

Will it succeed?

      One of the richest and most pleasing aspects in chess is the sacrifice. A sacrifice is giving up material on order to achieve some goal or compensation (giving up material with no goal in mind is known as insanity- IM Jeremy Silman). The hard part about sacrifices (or “sacs” as they are known in chess slang) is determining if one is good or will work. For example, consider the position in a game of mine after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 b5!? 6.Bf1!? Qxd5 7.Nc3 Qd8 8.Bxb5 Bb7

        Here, I was playing white. I had many games going on at the time and was trying to end them, so I decided to sacrifice on f7 even though it was unsound. The sequence 9.d4 exd4 10.Nxf7?! Kxf7 11.Nd4 Nxd4 12.Qf3+ might end in a win or a draw, but perfect play from both sides loses. I instead blundered and played 9.Nxf7?? first, so 10.d4 could be met by 10…Nxd4. I was losing, but he missed a mate-in-one and I luckily won the game. The original intention was to sac two knights, and hope he plays in a line where I win, and if not then oh well, I wasn’t in the mood. This was not an attitude I should have taken, and I was very lucky to win the game. My point is however calculate and try to refute it, and if black can escape with best play, always assume that your opponent makes the best move!

 For those who are curious, the game ended after 9.Nxf7?? Kxf7 10.d4?? Nxd4 11.Bg5 h6 12.Bxf6+ gxf6 13.Bc4+ Ke7 14.Qg4 Nxc2+?! 15.Kf1 Nxa1?? 16.Qe6#

And they say luck isn’t a part of chess.

      So now the question stands: how do I know if a sacrifice is going to work? Actual calculation is the hard part. In correspondence chess you have the luxury of analysis boards, but in a standard game you must calculate in your head many variations of a sacrifice. Therefore, in order to be able to tell if a sac works or not, then you must expand your visualization skills to the point where you can calculate many different variations to a certain extent. In order to increase your crucial visualization skills, which are important for every part of the game, there are different exercises that you can do. I recommend mate-in-x and tactical puzzles without a board to try and increase visualization skills. Another useful exercise that I sometimes employ is blindfold games. While you may not be able to calculate a full game in your head without a board, you should try to go as far as you can. Someday maybe you can play a whole game!

     Our final example on chess visualization is a famous game played by Frank Fames Marshall, an American player who was also a World Champion Contender (he lost his match to Capablanca).Marshallsacked a Queen and his opponent resigned on the spot. In every single variation of the sacMarshallwins, but it takes some time to figure that out. Look at the following position. I will not give each and every line, but take a few minutes and try to find every line in your head that is possible. Trust me, it is a difficult task that took me a while (and, I will admit, and analysis board one or two times), so think hard! (White to move, but here he resigned)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Types of sacrifices

      There are several different types of sacrifices. We will go over each one individually in the next few pages. The different types of sacs are: gambits, positional sacs, temporary sacs, exchange sacs, tactical sacs, and mate attack sacs.

 

 

 

Gambits

      Gambits are opening sacrifices; usually a pawn is the piece being given up. One rare example of something other than a pawn is a line in the King’s Gambit (hey this is a gambit too!) where white gives up a Knight for the initiative.

      Indeed, most gambits are for the initiative. The King’s gambit is known as more of an attacking gambit, while the Queen’s gambit is very positional. The Queen’s Gambit is not a true gambit, because if black accepts it he can not hold on to the pawn.

     Now wait a minute! IF he accepts? What does that mean? Most gambits have a form (or forms) where the other side can decline the gambit, for instance, the Queen’s Gambit Declined (QGD), Slav, and Semi-Slav are all ways of declining the Queen’s Gambit. Gambits are not true sacrifices in the sense of the word, but I thought I should give a word on them.

 

Positional Sacrifices

      Positional sacs are not the ones most players are familiar with. These sacs achieve a positional advantage rather than an immediate advantage, such as the initiative (much like gambits) or other advantage. Our example is from my analysis of a bad opening. Similar sacrifices appear in games, but our example is a composition by me where white sacs a pawn. Can you find the right move and, more importantly, why it is successful?

 

 

 

 

 

 

       White has a huge pawn center and lead in development while black has only two misplaced knights. The correct move here is 1.d6! exd6 2.exd6 cxd6 White is down a pawn, but if you look at the position then you will notice that the c8 Bishop is trapped! White has great development and is in the driver’s seat. After 3.a3 Na6 None of Black’s pieces are happy.

 

Temporary Sacrifices

 

      Just as the Queen’s Gambit is not a true gambit, temporary sacrifices are not real sacrifices, for you gain back the material almost instantly. An example appeared in a recent game of mine that I shall give here. A bad opening choice has led to a somewhat drawish endgame, but I sacrifice just to gain back the material on the next move (before I go on, please note that a temporary sacrifice allows you to gain back only the material that you have given up and no more, although you may achieve a positional advantage such as the one below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

     I, playing black, played 1.Rb1+! Kxb1 And my opponent resigned immediately before I had a chance to reply. I sacrificed a rook, but it was more of an exchange than a sacrifice since I could now play 2.Rxe8+. The reason my opponent resigned on the spot was that after Rxe8+, the Bishop is pinned to the rook and the rook is stuck defending the bishop, rendering the two pieces useless. In the specter of a losing endgame, my opponent decided to just end the game.

 

Exchange Sacrifices

 

            Exchange sacs are when you lose the exchange, for example, if you sacrifice a Rook for a Knight, you have played an exchange sacrifice. Exchange sacrifices usually do not include pawns, although in a sense they do count as an exchange sac. These sacrifices are usually played to expose the king or relieve pressure. In the Sicilian Dragon, often Black will sacrifice the exchange by taking a knight on c3 with a rook, and then recapture with a Queen on a5, getting the Queen into the heart of the matter.

 

    In this next example, Alekhine forces a mate-in-two with a simple exchange sacrifice. Many exchange sacs do not come with immediate results such as this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alekhine, playing white, is down a bishop in three pawns, and Black’s king appears safe for now. A simple exchange sac wins simply. 1.Qxe8+!! Kxe8 2.Rc8#

 

Tactical Sacrifices

        Tactical sacrifices are similar to temporary sacrifices, but they get you even more material than you sacrificed! Maybe they shouldn’t be called a true sacrifice, but they are extremely fun to play and are sometimes used to wipe out an opponent’s entire army! These sacrifices most of the time include double attacks and discovered checks. Consider this next position achieved at the Tel Aviv 1964 Olympiad in a game between Alony and Mikhail Botvinnik.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Botvinnik, playing black, has a superior position. Material is even, but white is cramped while black has a lot of space, not to mention the magnificent outpost on d4. The key to this position is a tough one, and looks odd at first. Botvinnik played 1.Bxh3!! This sacrifice is tactical, because 1…gxh3 fails to Nf3+! which wins the Queen, so black basically gave a bishop and a knight for a pawn and a Queen, meaning his sacrifice ended up gaining material. Alony declined with 2.b4 which led to an interesting battle but Botvinnik managed to win with his extra pawn.

 

Mate Attack Sacrifices

         Mate attack sacrifices are the most common and beautiful sacrifices in the royal game. Just as the name implies, a Mate Attack sac exposes the king and goes for an immediate mate. These are the sacrifices that you must be extremely careful about, because if it fails then you (most likely) will go into a losing endgame, so you must make sure that you accomplish mate! We will have two examples for this crucial sacrifice.

     Our first example is a classic Bishop sacrifice, and is one all players should know how to execute. The ingredients for this fine sacrifice are: a pawn on e5, Bishops on the b1-h7 and c1-h6 diagonals, a Knight on f3, and a Queen on d1. This sac will fail if your opponent has a Queen/bishop with access to the b1-h7 diagonal. Below is an example of a successful classic bishop sacrifice:

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.Bxh7+!! Kxh7 2.Ng5+ Kg8 3.Qh5 Re8 4.Qxf7+ Kh8 5.Qh5+ Kf8 6.Qh7+ Kg8 7.Kf8 Qh8+ 8.Ke7 Qxg7#

 

            Our second example is a complete game in an opening known as the “Fried Liver Attack”, where White sacrifices a knight for, a lot of times, checkmate. This is a fine game that I enjoy.

 

         1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7! Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6 the only way to defend the knight, who is now pinned. 8.Nf3 Ncb4 9.a3! Nxc2+ 10.Kd1 Now White regains the piece, but loses a rook. It doesn’t matter; the king will soon die of exposure. 10…Nxa1 11.Nxd5 Kd6 12.d4 opening up the position and developing the Bishop 12…exd4 13.Bf4+ Kc5 14.Ba2 a5 the threat here is 12.Nxc7 Rb8 13.Ne6+ and the Rook, Queen, and King are all under attack, so the rook must fall! Now the rook can escape with 12…Ra7, nullifying the threat. 15.Bxc7 Qd7 16.Kd2 Nc2 17.Rc1 d3! It looks like black has a fantastic outpost here, but his dreams are swiftly swiped away with an exchange sacrifice. 18.Rxc2+! dxc2 19.Qc3+ Kb5 20.Qc4#      

 

Final Puzzle

       Here is one last puzzle for you to mull over. Nothing too elaborate, but a good example of understanding sacrifices. In the following position, white is up a Queen for a Bishop and a pawn, and the Bishop is lost because of the two rooks aiming at it, an overwhelming advantage. White can progress further into the endgame and win easily, or take advantage of the mating attack, but the quickest and prettiest way to end the game is good ol’ fashioned sacrifice!

1.Rxh7 obviously wins immediately, but I thought it would be more fun for a more elaborate mate, so after some analysis I formed this into a chess puzzle. At this position, 1.Qh8+ looks appealing, but after 1…Kxh8 2.Rxh7+ Kg8 3.Rh8+ Kg7 4.R1h6+ and the attack is no more, and black may be able to draw, if not win. 1.Qxe5 is good, but agonizingly slow compared to the other options. The best move here (according to beauty standards…not logical standards, where 1.Rxh7 takes first place) is 1.g6!! fxg6 1…Bxg6 2.Rh8# 2.Rxh7!! 2…Rxf6?? Loses to 3.Rh8+ Kg7 5.Rh7# with a pretty win. Declining simply doesn’t work because white is threatening mate on h8 again, so the game is won.

     If you could see everything from the beginning, then good for you, that means that your calculation skills are great! If you couldn’t, don’t worry, neither could I! If you can’t calculate something with brute force, go by instinct. Before my calculations, 1.g6 looked good, I could feel it with that chessic sixth sense.

 

 

         So I hope you have learned something from our discussion of sacrifices. Hopefully you have learned the importance of visualization and the beauty of the sac, as well as the types of sac.

      To conclude our discussion of sacrifices, I have chosen a game in which the famous Emanuel Lasker defeats Johann H. Bauer with a spectacular combination. (Annotations by Nelson, last name unknown, and me)

 

1.f4 The Bird Opening, not the best opening, but not bad either d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 Nf6 4.b3 Be7 5.Bb2 b6 6.Bd3 Bb7 7.Nc3 O-O 8.O-O Nbd7 9.Ne2 c5 10.Ng3 Qc7 The White Bishops are poised for action in the direction of the Black King. Both sides have been developing comfortably, although Black does possess a space advantage 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.Bxe5 Qc6 13.Qe2 a6 14.Nh5! Nxh5 Superficially, it appears that Black is safe from White's attack. But wait. 15.Bxh7+! The beginning of a profound and elegant combination to set up a Mating net. 15...Kxh7 16.Qxh5+ Kg8 17.Bxg7 { The second sacrifice. After this, Black cannot survive. 17...Kxg7 18.Qg4+ Kh7 19.Rf3 e5 20.Rh3+ Qh6 21.Rxh6+ Kxh6 22.Qd7 Black resigns. White get a Bishop back and his material advantage is final. (The Bishops are forked) While White did not achieve mate, he did win a Queen for a Rook and a Bishop back, meaning that both sacrifices would fall under tactical sacs. There will be times win a sac will fall under multiple categories, do not panic when this happens, just take them as they go and try to get an advantage. While a material advantage might not be as pleasing as immediate mate, it still wins.

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hmm Well written or typed