A Knight Sacrifice is a deliberate move where you offer a Knight to your opponent. The first diagram above shows a tactical Knight sacrifice (calculation-based, risk-free, leading to immediate advantages like checkmate): 1.Ng6+ hxg6 2.Rh1#.
The second diagram above shows a positional sacrifice (intuition-based, risky, aiming for long-term positional advantages): 1.Nf5 sacrifices a full Knight to create a strong outpost on d5 and a mass of pawns against the kingside.
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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 Knight 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.
Take a look at this fine lesson by Chessfactor to get an overview of the major strategic and tactical patterns that are associated with Knight Sacrifices. Ideal for Intermediates.
In this video GingerGM does a great analysis of a historical beautiful game in which White sacrificed his Knight on an EMPTY square to gain a decisive advantage. A must-see.
“Every Sacrifice” is an awesome chess.com series. This lesson is all about one of the most thematic Knight Sacs. Don’t forget the interactive challenges at the end of the lesson.
This wonderful book by Merijn van Delft is all about sacrifices that pay off in the long term. Absolutely have a look at it. Great for intermediate players who wish to improve their positional understanding of positions.
Regardless of your age, this book by Murray Chandler is a fun and efficient way to learn all the most important checkmate patterns, including several that feature Knight Sacrifices. Highly recommended.
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