Greek gift sacrifice
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In
chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
, the Greek gift sacrifice, also known as the classical bishop sacrifice, is a typical sacrifice of a
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
by White playing Bxh7+ or Black playing Bxh2+ at some point after the opponent has castled kingside. Greek gift sacrifices, or the threat of them, occur relatively frequently in play, especially at the lower levels. One of the most famous examples of the sacrifice is found in the game Edgard ColleJohn O'Hanlon, Nice 1930. Less commonly, a Greek gift sacrifice may be the prelude to a double bishop sacrifice, as seen in Lasker versus Bauer, Amsterdam, 1889.


Illustration

The position after the moves 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Nf3 Bb4 6.Bd3 0-0 (see diagram) is a simple case where the Greek gift sacrifice works. White can play 7.Bxh7+ Kxh7 8.Ng5+ to force Black to give up the
queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
to prevent mate: *8...Kh8 9.Qh5+ Kg8 10.Qh7 *8...Kg8 9.Qh5 threatening 10.Qh7#, to which the only feasible responses are **9...Qxg5 10.Bxg5 wins the queen, and **9...Re8 10.Qxf7+ Kh8 11.Qh5+ Kg8 12.Qh7+ Kf8 13.Qh8+ Ke7 14.Qxg7# *8...Kh6 9.Nxf7+ wins the queen. *8...Kg6 9.h4 and there is no satisfactory way to meet the threat of 10.h5+ Kh6 (10...Kf5 11.g4#) 11.Nxf7+, winning the queen.


Etymology

The
etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
of the phrase "Greek gift" in this context is not entirely clear. The obvious explanation is that it alludes to the
Trojan Horse The Trojan Horse was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending before the war is concluded, ...
, and specifically to
Laocoön Laocoön (; grc, , Laokóōn, , gen.: ), is a figure in Greek and Roman mythology and the Epic Cycle. Laocoon was a Trojan priest. He and his two young sons were attacked by giant serpents, sent by the gods. The story of Laocoön has been the su ...
's famous '' Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes'' ("I fear the Greeks even when they bring gifts",
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
's
Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of th ...
II.49). ''
The Oxford Companion to Chess ''The Oxford Companion to Chess'' is a reference book on the game of chess written by David Vincent Hooper and Kenneth Whyld. The book is written in an encyclopedia format. The book belongs to the Oxford Companions series. Details The first e ...
'', however, suggests that one explanation is that the sacrifice often occurred in
Gioachino Greco Gioachino Greco (c. 1600 – c. 1634) ( ελληνικά/greek: Τζοακίνο Γκρέκο), surnamed Cusentino and more frequently ''il Calabrese'', was an Italian chess player and writer. He recorded some of the earliest chess games kno ...
's games.


References

*


Further reading

* Vladimir Vuković, ''Art of Attack in Chess'' – chapter 6 is dedicated to the classical bishop sacrifice * *{{Cite book , last=Rudel, first=David , year=2009 , title=Zuke 'Em: The Colle-Zukertort Revolutionized , publisher= Thinkers Press , isbn=978-1-888710-39-7


External links


Greek gift practice
Chess tactics