A Bishop Sacrifice is a deliberate move where you offer a Bishop to your opponent (see also the Greek Gift Sacrifice). The first diagram above shows a tactical Bishop sacrifice (calculation-based, risk-free): 1.Bxe6+ Qxe6 and mate next move.
The second diagram above shows a positional sacrifice (intuition-based, long-term): 1.Bxh7+ Kxh7 2.Qh5+ Kg8 3.Bxg7. It's a two-Bishops sacrifice that gives White ample compensation thanks to the now exposed black King.
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When we started adding a playful touch to chess learning, we looked through thousands of videos and hundreds of books to find the best resources out there. Here's our curated selection of the best content we encountered on Bishop Sacrifices. We also included some smaller creators who are growing fast and we believe deserve your attention. Check out these resources if you want to master this type of sacrifice.
This Chess.com lesson by GM Ben Finegold on Bishop sacs is part of a fun series on Opening Traps. Have a go at it and then train with the interactive challenges.
If you are a serious chess improver have a go at this nice book by David LeMoir. The most recurring sacrifices are all present in here, very clearly explained and exemplified. And interestingly categorized by the SQUARE in which they happen.
This is one of the best tactics workbooks for beginners out there. Go for it. Peter Giannatos & Daniel Naroditsky did a great job in selecting and presenting the exercises in a progressive manner. For beginners and intermediates alike.
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