Checkmates
The Greek Gift Sacrifice (Bxh7+)
The Greek Gift is a bishop sacrifice on h7 (or h2 for Black) against a king that has castled kingside. White gives up the bishop with check, drags the king forward with a knight check from g5, and brings the queen to h5 to threaten mate on h7. When the conditions are right it wins outright; when one piece is missing, it is just a lost bishop. That is what makes it worth studying carefully: the move is easy to spot, but the judgment about whether it works is what wins games.
The basic setup
The position below is a constructed one, built to show the pattern in its cleanest form. It comes from a French Defense type structure: White's pawn on e5 has pushed the black knight away from f6, and Black has castled into a position with no minor piece defending the kingside.
The sequence is 1.Bxh7+ Kxh7 2.Ng5+. Now the black king has to decide where to go, and each choice has its own refutation. Before we look at them, here is what White needs.
The conditions that make it work
- A bishop on the b1-h7 diagonal, usually on d3, with a clear path to h7.
- A knight that can reach g5 with check, normally from f3. The g5 square must be safe: if a black piece can simply capture the knight for free, the attack collapses. In the diagram the black queen on d8 does see g5, but the bishop on c1 also covers it, so 2...Qxg5 3.Bxg5 just gives up the queen.
- A queen that can reach h5 (or another square on the h-file) in one move, so that Qh7 mate is threatened immediately after the knight check.
- No black knight on f6. A knight on f6 guards h7 and h5. A white pawn on e5 is the classic way to keep it out, because it covers f6 permanently.
- No quick defender for h7. If Black can answer with ...Nf8, ...Bf5 or ...Rh8-type defences, the sacrifice usually fails.
- Ideally, extra pieces ready to join. A rook that can lift to the h-file, or the c1-bishop on the c1-h6 diagonal, often decides the harder lines.
When you are thinking about Bxh7+, go through this checklist piece by piece. Most failed Greek Gifts fail because of one item on it: usually a defender that can reach f6 or a piece that controls g5.
Option 1: 2...Kg8, the natural retreat
After 2...Kg8 3.Qh5 White threatens 4.Qh7#. In this position every Black reply except one gets mated very quickly. For example, 3...Re8, freeing f8 for the king, runs into 4.Qxf7+ Kh8 5.Qh5+ Kg8 6.Qh7+ Kf8 7.Qh8+ Ke7 8.Qxg7#. The e5 pawn controls d6 and f6, so the king has nowhere left.
The other try, 3...Nf6, attacks the queen but leaves the knight where the pawn takes it: 4.exf6 and Black is mated soon after, for example 4...Re8 5.Qxf7+ Kh8 6.Qxg7#. The only way to avoid mate is 3...Qxg5 4.Bxg5, giving up the queen for a knight. White ends up a queen for two minor pieces, a winning material edge.
Play through the 2...Kg8 3.Qh5 Re8 line →Option 2: 2...Kh8, a faster loss
Going to the corner only speeds things up: 2...Kh8 3.Qh5+ Kg8 4.Qh7# is mate. The knight on g5 protects h7, and the black rook on f8 blocks the king's only escape.
Option 3: 2...Kg6, the toughest defence
Stepping forward is the most testing reply in many Greek Gift positions, because the king hides behind its own pawns and away from the h-file. White's main weapon is now a discovered check. If the white queen gets onto the g-file behind the knight, any knight move uncovers check, and the knight can jump to e6 with a fork.
In our position 3.Qd3+ is strong. If Black blocks with 3...f5, then 4.Qg3 lines up the queen behind the knight on the g-file. The threat is 5.Nxe6+, a discovered check from the queen that also attacks the black queen on d8 and the rook on f8. Black has to give up a lot of material to stop it, and White's attack carries on. In other Greek Gift positions the plan against ...Kg6 is often h2-h4-h5+, using the h-pawn to drive the king further out, so look for whichever piece can reach the g-file or the h-pawn push fastest.
See the 2...Kg6 defence and 4.Qg3 →Option 4: 2...Kh6, walking into the bishop
This is where the bishop on c1 earns its place. The c1-h6 diagonal runs through d2, e3, f4 and g5, and only the knight on g5 is blocking it. So after 2...Kh6, the knight can move with discovered check from the bishop: 3.Nxe6+ is check, and the knight on e6 attacks the queen on d8. After 3...Kh7 4.Nxd8 White has won the queen. This is why the c1-bishop matters so much: it not only covers g5, it punishes the king for stepping onto h6.
When it fails
Change one detail in the diagram and the picture can flip. Put a black bishop on e7 instead of b4 and the queen-and-bishop pair both control g5; move the white bishop off c1 and ...Qxg5 simply wins the knight; leave a black knight on f6 and Qh5 is no longer possible. A good habit is to make the sacrifice only after checking each king move: ...Kg8, ...Kh8, ...Kg6, ...Kh6 and, where possible, a capture on g5. If you can answer all of them, play it. If one of them leaves you a piece down with no follow-up, do not.
The same pattern exists for Black against a white king on g1: ...Bxh2+, ...Ng4+ and ...Qh4. It also works in reverse when you are the defender. If your opponent has a bishop on d3, a knight on f3 and a pawn on e5, keep a knight on f6 or be ready to cover h7, and think twice about any move that removes your last kingside defender.
How to practise this
Set up the diagram on the analysis board and try each king move for Black yourself, then check your answers against the lines above. After that, change one piece at a time, such as moving the c1-bishop or adding a black bishop on e7, and see which conditions break the attack. You will find many positions with this pattern in the puzzles, and the broader ideas are covered in attacking the castled king and checkmate patterns.
- Bishop on d3, knight to g5, queen to h5: those three pieces are the whole idea.
- No black knight on f6, and no safe capture on g5.
- Check every king move, especially ...Kg6, before you sacrifice.
- The c1-bishop covers g5 and punishes ...Kh6 with a discovered check.