What is this commonet king side castle bishop sacrifice called?

Hello everyone,

This trick I have seen so many times against me, people play it all time. I have defended it succesfully before as you have to prevent that knight coming to g5 after sacrifice. But I was wondering if anyone knows a name for this so I can study this on youtube or something, or else kind enough to share how to prevent this and how to counter attack this. I can defend this using common sense but was wondering if there was a methodical way to do this as I have seen this so many times. I lost this game because I made a stupid knight move, I feel I could have hold on if I didn't do that, so more than this game analysis, I want to know the name of this and ideas behind it as it so common. Thank you

The Bishop sacrifice starts at move 12, I know you have seen it many times.

I don't know of a name. Most chess themes do not have an official name, after all. But you can try Googling phrases like "chess Bxh6 sacrifice" or "chess bishop sacrifice on h6". Google appears to understand chess annotations.

Most of the search results are highly relevant, including this article (which unfortunately has a soft paywall). And don't forget to check the "images" section.

Not to play ...h6 is the simplest way to avoid Bxh6 sacs. If you've already played it, you'll need to calculate a few lines and evaluate whether your king will be in real danger. If that is true, as is in your game, go search for an anecdote.

Bxh6 sacrifices are generally difficult to prevent. They come by frequently even in master-level play. So don't feel bad for yourself; we all have had our kingside crushed by all sorts of sacrifices.

The tactic against h6 was a queen bishop battery. I think the mate was Arabian Mate, the knight three squares diagonally from the king and mate delivered along rank or file by queen or rook. Dont know if the sacrifice itself has a name. You may be thinking of greek gift which is initiated by a bishop sacrifice on the 7th rank.

This sacrifice is called "Theres no defenders next to the black king while my bishops queen and knight can go there easily so I'll just mate him"

Hey thanks for all the replies.  While it is true i didn't ask for an analysis, nevermind i appreciate it. Thanks for all the replies i think i will be better prepared next time. 

These sort of sacrifices which destroy the king's pawn shield can be deadly, given some conditions (not all have to be met, these are general guidelines):

1. The sacrificer has fully developed their pieces, ready to attack the enemy king.
2. The sacrificer has control of the center, so the opponent cannot respond to the kingside attack by striking in the center
3. The opponent's king doesn't have many pieces defending it

In your game, White developed actively, fulfilling rule #1. Meanwhile, you wasted a move by playing ...h6 on move 4. Yes, h6 prevents ideas like Ng5, but you should generally prioritize development of your own pieces above these sort of edge pawn moves.

You allowed White to play c3 followed by d4, then surrendered your own center pawn by playing exd4, allowing White to take back and enjoy a very nice pawn duo on e4 and d4. By the time the sacrifice arrived, you had no pawns in center and your opponent had 2, thus fulfilling rule #2.

By the time White sacrificed on h6, you only had one knight on g6 providing defense of your king. Arguably, the poor positions of your pieces was a consequence giving White the whole center - since White claimed so much "territory" in the middle, your pieces were indirectly forced to worse squares. For example, in the game, you had to play Nge7-Ng6 rather than Nf6 because White would otherwise kick your f6 knight away with e5.

So, in retrospect, the mistake that started a chain reaction which eventually allowed White to play Bxh6, was Black surrendering the center. As TheImposter points out, there were better moves you could have played on move 4:

• Nf6, which according to the opening explorer is the best move. Yes, White can still go ahead with d4, but White will have to suffer some drawbacks as 1. the undefended e4 pawn is under attack and 2. Black will be able to play ...d5 counterattacking in the center in the future, as the knight on f6 controls the d5 square. One example line:
  
• d6. While this move is more passive than Nf6, it is still better than h6, because d6 at least accomplishes something related to the center. When White plays d4, Black can at least cling on to the pawn in the center. However, I would recommend Nf6 over d6, as it is more active (and less passive) for Black:
  

Hey thanks I'munknown. That was a great analysis. Yes I agree I have to improve my openings, I'm so scared that opponents Knight would somehow come c2 or f2, folking king/queen and rook. So I have a habit of playing a3 and h6 to prevent this. Because sometimes if you forget that move knight usually come to c4 under protection of bishop and gets the fork.  As you said this is not very good for my development.