ChessRanger
Tactics

Greek gift

the Bxh7+ sacrifice

The classic bishop sacrifice on h7 (or h2) to rip open a castled king.

The pattern: Bxh7+ Kxh7, Ng5+ and Qh5, dragging the king out and mating with queen, knight, and often a pawn or rook. It works when the defender lacks the resources …Kg8 and …Nf6 or a defending knight already committed.

Whether it truly works depends on precise details — where the black knights are, whether …Kg6 escapes, whether f-pawn defends. It is a pattern to know cold and then check move by move.

Why it matters

It is the most common attacking sacrifice against a castled king, and recognising the setup (bishop bearing on h7, knight ready for g5, queen able to reach h5) wins games on both sides of the board.

The mistake everyone makes

Playing Bxh7+ on autopilot when the defender has …Kg8 and a knight ready for f6, refuting the whole idea and leaving you a piece down.

Related terms

Smothered mate
A knight delivers mate to a king trapped by its own pieces.
Back-rank mate
Checkmate on the back rank against a king trapped by its own pawns.
Initiative
The ability to make threats the opponent must answer, keeping them reacting rather than acting.
Tactic
A short, forcing sequence of moves that wins material or delivers mate.

See Greek gift in your own games

Play the engine, train tactics, and analyse your games — ChessRanger points out these patterns as they come up so the word turns into a skill. Free to start.

Start playing