Chess lessons › Famous chess games
Lasker’s double bishop sacrifice
Lasker gives both bishops to strip Bauer’s king, wins the queen for a rook, then attacks two bishops at once.
The idea
Lasker gives both bishops to open the king, then wins the queen.
- The first bishop takes the h7 pawn with check.
- The queen takes the knight on h5, again with check.
- The second bishop takes on g7, and the king’s pawns are gone.
In a game: When both your bishops aim at the castled king, see if giving them up opens it.
How the lesson begins
Emanuel Lasker has White against Johann Hermann Bauer, at Amsterdam in 1889. It is a Bird’s Opening: White starts with f4. Both sides castle, and on move 14 Black takes a knight on h5.
- 1. f4 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. b3 e6 4. Bb2 Be7 5. Bd3 b6 6. Nf3 Bb7 7. Nc3 Nbd7 8. O-O O-O Both sides castle on the kingside.
- 9. Ne2 c5 10. Ng3 Qc7 11. Ne5 Nxe5 12. Bxe5 Qc6 13. Qe2 a6 14. Nh5 White’s knight jumps to h5 and attacks the knight on f6.
- 14... Nxh5 Black takes it. For the moment White is a knight down.
Find the move
White to move. White could take back on h5 with the queen, but Lasker played something stronger. Find it.
A hint
The bishop on d3 can take on h7 with check.
Show the answer
15. Bxh7+
Bxh7+! gives the bishop for a pawn, with check. Black has only two replies, Kh8 or Kxh7, and Bauer took the bishop.