Would this bishop sacrifice be worth it?

I've found myself in a position like this many times and I've always wondered if sacrificing a bishop 7.Bh6 to double stack his pawns and attempt to break up his kingside pawn structure in front of his castled king. Worth it or not?

Sacking a whole bishop for nothing, that's so absurd. 

Analysis by Stockfish 110515 64 BMI2:

1...gxh6 2.Qd2 h5 3.a3 Nd4 4.Nc3 c6 5.Nxd4 exd4 6.Ne2 d5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.Qh6 Bg5 9.Qxh5 Qa5+ 10.Kf1 Nf6 11.Qf3 Qe5 12.Qg3 Qxg3 13.Nxg3 Re8 14.h4 Bh6 15.Ba2 Bg7 

-+  (-3.08)    Depth: 26/35   00:00:14  187MN

(14.05.2015)

defiently not

Black doesn't have any weaknesses and you don't have enough pieces at the kingside. So there is no point in a sacrifice here ...

If you had a half-open g-file and your pieces were in position to attack, maybe. Otherwise it's useless.

Not.  It's not a sacrifice if you have no plan for a follow-up, it's just throwing a piece away.   Once the g-file is open, how are you going to use it?  Queen to g4?  Better deal with the Nf6 *and* the Bc8 first.   Lifting your h-rook is similarly difficult, and lifting your a-rook will require at least six moves.

  Develop more pieces, castle, generally keep Black busy (try to provoke two new weaknesses) so his pieces will be tied down and/or traded away, and *then* you might have an opportunity for a sacrifice.

You need to realize that a "sacrifice" cannot only be sound for you if your opponent has much the worse position.  In this case the position is close to equal so you cannot have a sound "sacrifice"

Ofcourse you can have a sound sacriface in an equal position

skotheim2  Are you making a joke in #8?

After Black makes the blunder of playing 8. ...g5??? it is no longer an equal position. 

I believe what ponz is referring to is this quote, which is undeniably true.

"A sacrifice just means somebody has blundered."

I take it Ponz is no fan of gambits??

So depending on how Black plays the current situation...I may not be completly crazy? Maybe a little?

you should atleast get 1 pawn for it. 2 or 3 is more preferable

Sound sacrifice =  sham sacrifice .  A real sacrifice always involves risk . 

I play the Benko Gambit and for many years the Smith Morra Gambit.

Also won from a grandmaster with Goring Two Pawn Sac Gambit.

Gambits are ok, in their place. If they are sound.