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Recently, I’ve had a few games where there was an early bishop capture of the f-pawn, and sacrifice of that bishop. I’ve dubbed this the “bishop sacrifice gambit” as it is more an idea rather than a specific opening as it can occur in a number of different openings and settings.

Now, the bishop sacrifice is, in some contexts, an objectively great or even brilliant move, like in this game submitted by my subscriber (https://adventuresofachessnoob.com/2022/08/22/brilliant-vienna-gambit-my-subscriber-goes-super-saiyan/). However, most of the time, it IS an objective blunder according to a computer engine. And yet, in the right situation, it is a seductive move, and can create some great attacking chances. Therefore I call this a “gambit”.

To make my idea clear, the quintessential example of this “bishop sacrifice gambit” line is probably the “Jerome Gambit” early in the Giuoco Piano line of the Italian. White, after developing their bishop to the c4 square, immediately seems to go mad and captures the f7 pawn on the next move… (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Bxf7+)

Now, this really is as bad as it looks. Stockfish 15 NNUE at depth 40 evaluates it at around [-4]. And yet, White will sometimes win with this. I’ve personally lost against the Jerome Gambit!

I’m going to cover a couple of games. In the first game, my opponent uses this bishop sacrifice gambit against me, and their attack fizzles out and fails. In the second game, I use this attack against one of my opponents and capture an attack initiative that allows me to win the game. I’m going to try to glean some insights from these two games that perhaps will identify the ingredients that might make it successful. I will say upfront, however, that the attack is unsound, and it will most likely fail against higher rated opponents, or, in games with longer time controls where more depth of thought is put into every move!

Game 1: https://www.chess.com/game/live/55831491881

In the first game, I had the black pieces. I’ll focus mostly on the opening, which is where this bishop sacrifice attack occurs. My opponent starts with the Bishop’s Opening (1. e4 e5 2. Bc4). As per my usual practice, I try to transpose the game into familiar territory, specifically, a Two Knights Italian where I know some tricks. In this game, it was successful (2… Nc6 3. Nf3 Nf6) – I first developed the queen’s knight, and White developed the king’s knight in response. I develop my other knight and we’re basically in the Two Knights Italian.

My opponent now plays for the open variation (4. d4), but again, I know how to respond. After a pawn trade (4… exd4) we transpose into the Dubois-Reti Defense of the Scotch Gambit (https://adventuresofachessnoob.com/2022/08/03/how-to-defend-against-the-scotch-gambit/) which is good for Black if you know how to play the position! Against the e-pawn advance you must counterattack with the d-pawn (5. e5 d5) and now there is a good chance that White will make a mistake in this complex position with Black coming out ahead (and at worst, achieve an equal position).

Two moves later, my opponent sacrifices their bishop (7. Bxf7+). Stockfish hates it [-5.87], but there is a potential logic to the move. The sacrifice comes with check, so Black loses the right to castle. The king is stuck on the kingside of the board, with a potentially damaged pawn structure. And Black will probably need to waste tempo dealing with the forced king move.

However, in this attack rapidly fizzled out for my opponent. Why? Simply, I could capture the bishop (7… Kxf7) and after the white knight jumps forward with another check (8. Ng5+), there’s nothing left. White’s knight is off side, isn’t threatening anything else, and isn’t supported by another other pieces. A couple of moves later, the knight is forced to retreat (10. Nf3) when threatened by a pawn and I’m pretty much just up material and have a development advantage. This means my strategy is clear – force piece trades into an endgame where I’m up a piece. The game took 51 moves to finish but my opponent has no ability to equalise.

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2022.09.02"]
[Round "-"]
[White "igboSkeptic"]
[Black "vitualis"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Timezone "UTC"]
[ECO "C23"]
[ECOUrl "https://www.chess.com/openings/Bishops-Opening"]
[UTCDate "2022.09.02"]
[UTCTime "04:26:34"]
[WhiteElo "1378"]
[BlackElo "1379"]
[TimeControl "1800"]
[Termination "vitualis won by checkmate"]
[StartTime "04:26:34"]
[EndDate "2022.09.02"]
[EndTime "05:08:04"]
[Link "https://www.chess.com/game/live/55831491881"]

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 {Bishop's Opening} 2... Nc6 3. Nf3 Nf6 {Transposes to the Two Knights Defense} 4. d4 exd4 {And this transposes to the Dubois-Reti Defense of the Scotch Gambit, which is good for Black [-0.14]} 5. e5 d5 6. exd6 $2 {A mistake [-1.89]} 6... Bxd6 7. Bxf7+ $4 {And an exciting game starts $1 White gambits their bishop [-5.87], objectively bad, but with some attacking ideas.} 7... Kxf7 8. Ng5+ Kg8 {I agonised over where to place my king, but surprisingly, Stockfish thinks any  of the legal moves were fine} 9. O-O h6 10. Nf3 {And unfortunately for White, there isn't enough firepower to the attack and it fizzles [-6.52]} 10... Bg4 11. c3 Bxf3 12. Qxf3 Qd7 13. b4 Ng4 14. Bf4 Bxf4 15. Qxf4 Rf8 16. Qg3 Qf5 17. Na3 d3 18. Rad1 Nce5 19. Nb5 h5 20. f4 h4 21. Qh3 Nc4 22. Nxc7 Nce3 23. Ne6 Nxd1 24. Nxf8 Kxf8 25. Rxd1 Qe6 $4 {A blunder [-3.63] that allows White counterplay} 26. Qxd3 Qb6+ 27. Qd4 Qxd4+ 28. Rxd4 Ke7 29. Rc4 Rd8 30. Re4+ Kf6 31. Re1 Rd3 32. h3 Ne3 33. Kf2 Nc2 34. Re2 Rxc3 35. Rd2 Nxb4 36. Rd7 Rc2+ 37. Kg1 Rxa2 38. Rxb7 Nd5 39. Rb3 Nxf4 40. Rf3 Ke5 41. g3 Rg2+ 42. Kh1 Rxg3 43. Rxg3 hxg3 44. h4 Ne2 45. Kg2 Kf4 46. Kf1 Kg4 47. Kxe2 Kh3 48. h5 Kh2 49. Kf3 g2 50. Kg4 g1=Q+ 51. Kh4 Qg3# {[%c_effect
h2;square;h2;type;Winner,h4;square;h4;type;CheckmateWhite]} 0-1

Game 2: https://www.chess.com/game/live/55634372913

In the second game, I had the White pieces and played a Vienna Gambit where my opponent declined with Nc6 (1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 Nc6). This automatically places me at an advantageous position, especially from the point of view of development as I get to force one of Black’s knight back to it’s starting square. On move 9, I decide to throw caution to the wind and play the bishop sacrifice gambit (9. Bxf7+)!

Stockfish hates the move [-2.08] but I had a sense that my opponent could probably refute it with accurate play. However, I had also a strong sense that I might get a power attack! Firstly, after the king captures the bishop (9… Kxf7), it loses its right to castle and is now on the fully open f-file! My next move, short-castles, places my rook in control of that f-file. And this was my strategy – to place overwhelming pressure down the f-file and the f7 square. Black must respond immediately as a potential next move with my knight could come with double-check!

I continued my plan, advancing my knight to put a second attacker on f7 (11. Ng5) and then putting my queen on the f-file with my rook to form a battery (12. Qf3). Stockfish really dislikes this plan [-5.21] as it can see complex counterattacks that that refutes it. However, the simplicity, directness, and immediacy of the attack with a seeming checkmate around the corner makes it very difficult for my opponent to not be drawn into my attack lines!

My opponent attempts to counterattack with their queen (12… Qxd4+), which Stockfish approved of. However, after I block and counterattack their queen with my bishop (13. Be3), they lose their nerve and retreat their queen (13… Qd7). Psychologically, this makes sense! With the king’s safety at stake, moving the queen away from the defence of the king doesn’t seem right! However, this results in my opponent getting their queen chased while allowing me to further develop and bring additional attackers. They blunder on move 14 (14. Rad1 Qe7) with Stockfish now giving me a commanding advantage [+3.33]. On move 17, they lose their queen (17. Nxd6+) and the game is pretty much finished [+11.6]. A mating net ensures with the king drawn into the middle of the board.

So, what potentially makes the “bishop sacrifice gambit” work? There must be a follow up attack that can take advantage of the king being stuck on the kingside, with the loss of their f-pawn. In this game, I had two immediate attackers on the king (knight and rook) with an almost immediate third attacker in the queen. Black could defend against the attack, but not with a simple direct defence of marshalling sufficient pieces. It was only possible with a dynamic counterattack, which is difficult to see, find, and play. In the first match, my opponent only had one other immediate attacker after the sacrifice, the knight, and after a rebuff, there was nothing left. The consequence of this was that they lost material and tempo with the failed early attack.

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2022.08.30"]
[Round "-"]
[White "vitualis"]
[Black "Ronaldo1618"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Timezone "UTC"]
[ECO "C28"]
[ECOUrl "https://www.chess.com/openings/Vienna-Game-Falkbeer-Vienna-Gambit"]
[UTCDate "2022.08.30"]
[UTCTime "21:34:04"]
[WhiteElo "1391"]
[BlackElo "1283"]
[TimeControl "1800"]
[Termination "vitualis won by resignation"]
[StartTime "21:34:04"]
[EndDate "2022.08.30"]
[EndTime "21:53:55"]
[Link "https://www.chess.com/game/live/55634372913"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 {Vienna Game: Vienna Gambit [-0.13]} 3... Nc6 {Declining the gambit with Nc6 is a mistake [+1.75]} 4. fxe5 Nxe5 5. d4 Ng6 6. e5 Ng8 7. Nf3 d6 8. Bc4 dxe5 9. Bxf7+ {I gambit the bishop [-2.08] to start an audacious aggressive attack $1 The compensation is that the king loses the right to castle, is trapped on the kingside with a damaged defences including an open f-file, and a step of tempo.} 9... Kxf7 10. O-O Ke8 11. Ng5 {Stockfish doesn't like this [-3.98], but I'm setting up attackers on f7} 11... Nh6 12. Qf3 {Again, Stockfish disapproves [-5.21] setting up the attack on f7 as it can be refuted with aggressive counterplay by Black} 12... Qxd4+ {Great move by Black} 13. Be3 Qd7 {But they let their queen be chased allowing White to gain tempo and development} 14. Rad1 Qe7 $4 {Black makes a game changing blunder [+3.33] justifying the original bishop sacrifice. This was a tricky position for Black to navigate having only two moves that doesn't give White a major advantage, Qc6 or Bd6.} 15. Nd5 $1 Qd6 $2 {Another misplaced queen move [+7.55]} 16. Nf7 $1 Bg4 $6 {Black's counterattack is one step too late [+11.6]} 17. Nxd6+ cxd6 18. Nc7+ Kd7 19. Qxb7 Bxd1 20. Nxa8+ Ke6 21. Rxd1 Ng4 22. Nc7+ Kf5 23. Qf3+ (23. Qc8+ {Various mating nets have been woven. This is one of the quicker paths to checkmate which I missed.} 23... Ke4 24. Qxg4+ {[%c_highlight
f5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f5;persistent;false,f4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f4;persistent;false,f3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f3;persistent;false,d3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d3;persistent;false,d5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d5;persistent;false,d4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d4;persistent;false][%c_arrow
g4f5;keyPressed;none;from;g4;opacity;0.8;to;f5;persistent;false,g4f4;keyPressed;none;from;g4;opacity;0.8;to;f4;persistent;false,g4f3;keyPressed;none;from;g4;opacity;0.8;to;f3;persistent;false,c2d3;keyPressed;none;from;c2;opacity;0.8;to;d3;persistent;false,c7d5;keyPressed;none;from;c7;opacity;0.8;to;d5;persistent;false,e3d4;keyPressed;none;from;e3;opacity;0.8;to;d4;persistent;false]}
24... Nf4 {[%c_highlight
f5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f5;persistent;false,f4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f4;persistent;false,f3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f3;persistent;false,d3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d3;persistent;false,d4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d4;persistent;false,d5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d5;persistent;false][%c_arrow
c7d5;keyPressed;none;from;c7;opacity;0.8;to;d5;persistent;false,e3d4;keyPressed;none;from;e3;opacity;0.8;to;d4;persistent;false,c2d3;keyPressed;none;from;c2;opacity;0.8;to;d3;persistent;false,g4f5;keyPressed;none;from;g4;opacity;0.8;to;f5;persistent;false,g4f4;keyPressed;none;from;g4;opacity;0.8;to;f4;persistent;false,g4f3;keyPressed;none;from;g4;opacity;0.8;to;f3;persistent;false]}
25. Re1 {[%c_highlight
e3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e3;persistent;false,d5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d5;persistent;false,d4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d4;persistent;false,d3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d3;persistent;false,f3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f3;persistent;false,f4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f4;persistent;false,f5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f5;persistent;false][%c_arrow
e1e3;keyPressed;none;from;e1;opacity;0.8;to;e3;persistent;false,c7d5;keyPressed;none;from;c7;opacity;0.8;to;d5;persistent;false,c2d3;keyPressed;none;from;c2;opacity;0.8;to;d3;persistent;false,e3d4;keyPressed;none;from;e3;opacity;0.8;to;d4;persistent;false,g4f5;keyPressed;none;from;g4;opacity;0.8;to;f5;persistent;false,g4f4;keyPressed;none;from;g4;opacity;0.8;to;f4;persistent;false,g4f3;keyPressed;none;from;g4;opacity;0.8;to;f3;persistent;false]}
25... a6 {[%c_arrow
e3d4;keyPressed;none;from;e3;opacity;0.8;to;d4;persistent;false,e1e3;keyPressed;none;from;e1;opacity;0.8;to;e3;persistent;false,c7d5;keyPressed;none;from;c7;opacity;0.8;to;d5;persistent;false,c2d3;keyPressed;none;from;c2;opacity;0.8;to;d3;persistent;false,g4f5;keyPressed;none;from;g4;opacity;0.8;to;f5;persistent;false,g4f4;keyPressed;none;from;g4;opacity;0.8;to;f4;persistent;false,g4f3;keyPressed;none;from;g4;opacity;0.8;to;f3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d5;persistent;false,d4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d4;persistent;false,d3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d3;persistent;false,e3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e3;persistent;false,f3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f3;persistent;false,f5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f5;persistent;false,f4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f4;persistent;false]}
26. Ba7# {[%c_arrow
a7d4;keyPressed;none;from;a7;opacity;0.8;to;d4;persistent;false,e1e4;keyPressed;none;from;e1;opacity;0.8;to;e4;persistent;false,g4f5;keyPressed;none;from;g4;opacity;0.8;to;f5;persistent;false,g4f4;keyPressed;none;from;g4;opacity;0.8;to;f4;persistent;false,g4f3;keyPressed;none;from;g4;opacity;0.8;to;f3;persistent;false,c2d3;keyPressed;none;from;c2;opacity;0.8;to;d3;persistent;false,c7d5;keyPressed;none;from;c7;opacity;0.8;to;d5;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e4;persistent;false,d5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d5;persistent;false,d4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d4;persistent;false,d3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d3;persistent;false,f3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f3;persistent;false,f5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f5;persistent;false,f4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f4;persistent;false,e3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e3;persistent;false]})
23... Nf4 24. Bxf4 exf4 25. Rd5+ Kf6 26. Qxf4+ {[%c_effect
g1;square;g1;type;Winner,f6;square;f6;type;ResignBlack] Black resigns [+M2]} (26. Qxf4+ {If the game continued...} 26... Kg6 27. Qxg4+ Kh6 28. Qh5#) 1-0