Chess Patterns
0 / 5 solved

Sacrifice on f7

Attacks on the uncastled king · Break through

Before Black castles, f7 is guarded only by the king. A bishop or knight takes it, the king is dragged into the open, and the rest of White’s pieces arrive with check.

How it works (spoiler)

Nxf7 forks the queen and the rook, so Black more or less has to take. Then Qxe6+ rips away the last pawn in front of the king, and it can only run forward. Bd3+ drives it to the h-file, where the queen mates on h3.

The set-up: king in the centre

Look for a king still on e8, with f7 guarded only by the king, and a bishop on the a2–g8 diagonal or a knight on g5 aimed at it. What matters most is the next move: the sacrifice works when another piece can follow with check, so the king never gets time to step back.

Before you take, ask what you have after ...Kxf7. In this position the queen on the e-file provides the follow-up.

A bishop version: the loose piece on g4

Sometimes the sacrifice wins material instead of mating. With Black’s bishop on g4 unguarded, 1.Bxf7+ Kxf7 2.Ng5+ moves the knight with check and uncovers the queen on d1, which takes the bishop. White ends up a pawn ahead with the safer king.

2.Ng5+ uncovers the queen, and the bishop on g4 falls

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Declining with 1...Kd7 is worse: Ne5+ and the queen takes on g4 with check

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The Fried Liver: dangerous, not decisive

After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 the knight sacrifice 6.Nxf7 is the most famous f7 attack of all. Black’s king is driven to e6 and has to survive a long, unpleasant defence.

It is not a forced win, though. With exact defence engines give White only a small edge, so treat it as a dangerous practical weapon rather than a refutation.

The king is stuck on e6, but with ...Nb4 Black can hold on

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When it fails: nothing follows the check

In a quiet position with Black’s pieces developed, Bxf7+ just gives away a bishop. After 2.Ng5+ the king steps to g8 and White has no second wave. The same goes for Nxf7 when the queen is not ready: here it is on d1 rather than e2, so Qxe6+ does not exist.

2...Kg8: the king is safe and White is a bishop down for a pawn

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With the queen on d1, the second sacrifice simply loses another piece

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