Sacrifice — Chess Puzzles

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A sacrifice gives up material on purpose, for something worth more: a mate, a promotion, or an attack the opponent cannot survive. It is only a sacrifice if the compensation is real and can be calculated. What separates it from simply blundering is that you can name what you get and see it to the end.

How to spot it

• The enemy king is exposed, or one defender is holding everything together.
• A capture on a square next to the king opens the position by force.
• The opponent's reply is forced, so the line can be calculated to the end rather than hoped through.
• You can say precisely what the material buys — mate in a specific number of moves, or a pawn that queens.

A worked example

White: king c1, knight h6, pawns g4 and h5. Black: king g3, knight e4, pawns b3, f6 and g5. White to move.

1. Nf5 gives check and offers the knight — and clears the h-file for the pawn behind it.
2. Kxg4 takes a pawn, h6 runs, and Kxf5 takes the knight. Black has won two pieces.
3. h7 is already unstoppable. White gave up a knight and a pawn and gets a queen.

The idea A sacrifice is an exchange you can count to the end: name what the material buys — here a pawn that queens — and check the line before you play it, or it is just a blunder with ambition.