Why Bxh7 is so powerful

Here I played an opponent who was about 50-60 points below my rating.

I remember reading a book a few years back on ways to checkmate the king with numerous, common positions in chess. One of these was the Bxh7 sacrifice which leads to checkmate if not properly analysed. Below is the game I played, which started in the Alekhine defence but transposed into a French defence structure.

NICEEEE

Biggest takeaway on the Bxh7+ sac, we make sure the Knight cannot make it to f6 to defend the square. Once the sac is made, we make sure there is a follow up check, oftentimes either Ng5+, Qd3+ or Qh5+ in this case the discovery was very powerful. On the second check, Black will have 2 moves if they cannot take the Knight (another consideration as to whether or not the sac is good): Kg6 and Kg8. On Kg8, you want the follow of Qh5 where Black must play Re8 or risk mate On Kg6, you might face an attack on the Queen, in which case Qh4 or Qg4 are the follow up moves. Obviously, Black's piece placement makes a big difference in where we place our pieces but if you can remember those 4 or 5 key ideas, you can assess the safety of the sac, getting it more often in your games. Nice job with the game though.

Cool