Winning with the Classic Bishop Sac

Lapoc Chess Board, Issue #027 -- Integrate the Classic Bishop Sacrifice into Your Game

Last month we looked at the joys of chasing down a hapless central King. The value of sacrificing material to ensure that the quarry would not escape to the relative safety of a castled position. We found that the material given up would surely be paid back in spades when the properly developed army would converge on an incoherent foe.

This month we're going to consider one well known tactical motif used in hunting down the enemy King. You will be able to appreciate the wonders that this simple technique can work for you.

I want to talk about the Bishop sacrifice on h7. Sometimes we have even seen double Bishop sacrifices. You will see how this motif can be such a fearsome weapon. It can be unleashed on your opponent in a number of ways.

Winning with the Classic Bishop Sac

The Traditional Sacrifice on h7

When you start out playing chess one of the biggest plagues is hanging pieces. It's always a dagger to the heart of the beginner when he loses material by overlooking an attacked piece.

That's probably part of the reason why we prize material so much starting out. If we go a piece down the fight becomes a lot harder. The idea of actually giving a piece away so we can gain an initiative, a strong attack or even a winning attack doesn't really register. But as we gain experience and know how, we find ourselves more at home with the idea, even warming to it.

That's what we will be concentrating on here. A common sacrificial motif in the middlegame is the Bishop Sacrifice on h7.

Black can Do it Too

White is not the only one who can wreak havoc on the h-file. Black can do it too. He will target the pawn on h2 for destruction. He will line his Bishops up to stare down the diagonals at the White Kingside.

Again he wants to rip open the King's defenses and finish off the isolated King before the extra piece will make it's presence felt. As you have seen in the previous game, one sacrifice is often followed up by others. Once you sacrifice one piece you have claimed a temporary dynamic advantage. You must play energetically and do whatever it takes to maintain that edge.

The players with the Black pieces show great technique in hunting down the King. Once the they roll the dice and take that h2 pawn they are fully committed to the attack. I give two instructive demonstrations of the Bishop Sacrifice on h2.

The Awesome Double Sacrifice

As you have seen the Bishop Sacrifice on the h-file will often be followed up by more sacrifices as the attacking forces close in on the King. The most breath-taking of these can be the Double Bishop Sacrifice.

The King will watch on in horror as the entire wing is cleaned out. All of the pawns disappear and the King has nowhere to run. All he can see is hostile forces arriving and he is blocked in by his own pieces.

You can exact this kind of punishment on your opponents in your own games, no matter color you play with. Feast on these Double Bishop Sacrifice games. Two from White. And two from Black.

P.S.
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See you next month.

Ken

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