Greek gift sacrifice

The Greek gift sacrifice is an attacking pattern in which a bishop captures the pawn beside a king positioned near a corner, usually after that king has castled, and gives check, directly attacking the king. Castling is the special move that takes the king toward a corner and moves a rook at the same time. White usually captures on h7 and Black on h2. h7 and h2 are square names in algebraic notation, the board's coordinate system.

If the king accepts the bishop, it leaves part of its pawn shelter. A knight commonly joins by jumping toward the king, while the queen approaches along a diagonal or the h-file, the vertical line containing h2 and h7. The result may be checkmate, an attack on the king with no legal answer, recovery of the offered pawns or pieces, or an attack strong enough to justify the bishop. The idea is a combination, a calculated sequence in which the defender's choices are tightly restricted.

Typical conditions

• The attacking knight can arrive with check or control the king's escape squares.
• The queen can enter quickly and the remaining attacking pieces have clear paths.
• The defenders are distant, obstructed, or unable to exchange the attackers easily.
• The king's retreats and the option of declining the sacrifice have been calculated rather than assumed.

The pattern is recognizable, but it does not work automatically. One extra defender, one escape square, or the possibility of trading queens may make the sacrifice unsound. The concrete position matters more than the familiar shape.