The Exchange Sacrifice: Attack and Defense

The exchange sacrifice is one of the most fascinating themes in chess. It is not a mating combination, nor a temporary sacrifice to get
back the material within a few moves. It's a deep positional sacrifice that changes the character the position. The pieces acquire the
true value for what they do on the board and not by their material significance.

The most important part of the sacrifice is setting up your mind to do it, especially in positions where you don't need to do it. A player
must trust his instinct in order to give up material without any guaranteed reward. The game will go on and it's better not to be counting
the value of the pieces outside the board.

When speaking of the exchange sacrifice, we are obliged to mention the former world champion Tigran Petrosian. This was his
trademark resource, something that he did in many of his games with great success. In one of his books he dedicates a whole chapter
to this element of chess.

When to sacrifice the exchange and why? There are certain motifs that can lead you to think of sacrificing a rook for a minor piece. Let's
do a short list, and divide it by Attacking / Defending ideas, for example:

Attacking
 To obtain the bishop pair (In a position where this element will play a major role)

 One dominant minor piece (A knight or a bishop in certain square where it can outplay the opponent's rook)

 To destroy the opponent's king shelter. (It is obvious that destroying the opponent's castle is worth an exchange in most
cases.)

 To damage the opponent's pawn structure. (Sometimes, creating weak double pawns in the enemy's camp compensates for
the exchange)

 To win a central pawn (In many openings, like French Defense or Sicilian, it is common for black to sacrifice the exchange to
win the d4 or e4 pawn.)

Defending
 To block an open file (Sometimes, an exchange sacrifice can transform the pawn structure, bringing a pawn into an open file
dominated by the opponent)

 To eliminate the attacking pieces of the opponent. (When being attacked, sacrificing a rook for the opponent's active pieces is
something that should be taken into consideration, it sometimes can even turn out to become a great counter-attack!)

In our present article we want to bring to your attention the games of the super GM Veselin Topalov and his common use of the
exchange sacrifice. Of course the words ''common use'' doesn’t mean that he does this in every game. However, whenever there is a
possibility, Topalov doesn't hesitate to use it.

Topalov has a very unique style of play, very aggressive and dynamic. It is in some ways similar to Kasparov’s, always looking for the
maximum edge in each position, without any fear of risking too much. He always prefers piece play over material, activity over
solidness. Understanding his character and style of play helps us understand why we see the exchange sacrifice theme so often in his
games.

Of course, it is very difficult to sum everything in lists or rules. It all depends on the characteristics of each position. Sometimes
elements collapse against each other and we must evaluate and judge which matters the most. However, guidelines like the one above
are sometimes useful.

Let's see now a few examples on this subject:

Page | 1
Example 1.1:

In words of Botvinnik himself: ''Black's position appears

hopeless. His pawns are broken, his bishops have no
prospects, but... Rd4!!'' This evaluation is correct, the same
position without rooks should be in white's favor, therefore
Rd4!

Game 1.1 – Move List:

Page | 2
Example 1.2:

In this position Petrosian played Rxe4! Sacrificing the

exchange for a central pawn but not only that. White's king will
be permanently exposed too. Later in the game Petrosian
sacrificed again the exchange. See it here:

Game 1.2 – Move List:

Page | 3
Example 1.3:

White has been careless with his last couple of moves: 12.Kb1
Rc8 13.Bd3. Kasparov did not think much to play 13...Rxc3!
ruining white's queenside and leaving his king permanently
weak. This is a beauty of a game by the great Garry.

Game 1.3 – Move List:

Page | 4
Page | 5
Example 1.4:

A regular Benoni position. Black could play, for example,

something like Qe7, with good play. However, Topalov
played Rxe3! This exchange sacrifice ruins white's pawn
structure and eliminates a key piece of white's army. Black
took over control of the dark squares and went on to win later.

Game 1.4 – Move List:

Page | 6
Example 2.1:

Black has activated all his pieces and has some certain play on
the queenside. His last maneuver was Rd6-a6, activating the
rook along the A file. White has some space advantage, but
the way to proceed isn't clear at first sight. Topalov found a
really incredible idea here and went on to play 19.Rb5!? An
amazing move, regardless the objective evaluation, white sets
concrete problems for his opponent by attacking the c5 pawn.

Game 2.1 – Move List:

Page | 7
Example 2.2:

If we look at the position without analyzing, we can

immediately see that black is better, basically because his
pawn structure is superior, as white's doubled pawns on c3
and c4 are a permanent weakness. However, white has two
bishops and is threatening to take on b7. What should black
play? Of course, Topalov played 12...b6! sacrificing the rook on
a8. It turns out that white's rooks won't have any open files to
play, and Topalov will still attack white's weak pawns using his
minor pieces. Topalov went on to win the game.

Game 2.2 – Move List:

Page | 8
Example 2.3:

In the following diagram, black has just played Bb7 to c8. The
idea is clear, black wants to transfer his bishop to f5 or e6 and
consolidate his position. Topalov found a nice idea here in
order to obtain an advantage: 18.Rxe4!! Eliminating black's
strong knight in the center and taking over the initiative. Later
in this game he got to sacrifice his second rook for one of
black's bishops! This is a clear example of how the minor
pieces receive a shot of activity when the sacrifice is played.

Game 2.3 – Move List:

Page | 9
Page | 10
Example 2.4:

Again, both sides are equally developed. However, there is

something that indicates that white's position is not so solid.
For example, all of his heavy pieces (rooks and queen) are on
the queenside, his kingside pawns are advanced (h3), creating
a potential weakness on g3. Topalov rightly played 19...Rxe3!
Turning white's king permanently weak, as well as obtaining
excellent play on the dark squares.

Game 2.4 – Move List:

With two articles on the positional exchange sacrifice we

conclude our discussion on this topic. We hope you have
enjoyed the examples and learned from them. Always
remember that when we sacrifice the exchange we must make
sure that we obtain compensation. This could be: outposts for
our minor pieces, piece activity, a permanently position of our
opponent's king, etc.

We hope that our readers learned something new from this

article and that from now on they will consider exchange
sacrifices more seriously during their games. Good luck!

Page | 11
The Exchange Sacrifice: Part II
Some time ago, we wrote about the common resource of sacrificing the exchange in order to change the character of the position
drastically. These changes could be taking over the initiative, break your opponent's defenses or they could just be positional sacrifices,
for example sacrificing the exchange in order to obtain a superior pawn structure, or obtaining a strong outpost for a minor piece in the
center.

We'd like to call this a ''resource'' because it's something that you can't plan from the start (there are exceptions of course), but the idea
can occur to you during the game in order to achieve goals. In my last tournament that ended just few days ago, I sacrificed the
exchange in three games, two of them were correct and the other was simply wrong. In my chess career I have employed this resource
several times, and with success.

As we mentioned in our first article on this subject, one of the key things is to evaluate the position accurately. Sometimes you're in a
worse position, and after sacrificing the exchange you're still worse but matters are less clear. Other times, the exchange sacrifice is
just the path to a better or even winning position.

Make sure you evaluate correctly. In this article we are going to discuss when to execute an exchange sacrifice. To give the reader a
clear idea of the thought behind the exchange sacrifice, I have chosen examples of my own and I will explain what led me to sacrifice
material.

I'll take the positions beginning exactly where the idea of sacrificing the exchange occurred to me.

Page | 12
Example 1: When NOT to do it

Here I'm playing with the black pieces. After realizing that my
opponent (rated 200 points lower than me) had just equalized
because after moving my rook he will take on b7 followed
by d5 with a massive simplification, I started to dream of a light
square domination and played 18...Rad8?

This is a clear case of OVERSTIMATION of your

chances. This wrong sacrifice could have cost me the game.

Game 1 – Move List:

Page | 13
Example 2: Your path to victory Game 2 – Move List:

Black's advantage is undisputable: strong outpost on e5, full

control of the dark squares, and white has many weaknesses –
b3, h3, e4. However, it's time to materialize the positional
superiority, but how?

The move Rc-h8 simply went into my candidate moves, and

th
then I realized that after taking on h3 my rook on the 6 rank
would be very active and white's position was going to start
collapsing without the bishop on g2. Basically he won't be able
to defend his weak pawns.

Page | 14
Example 3: Positional compensation Game 3 – Move List:

I had just played 20.h5 in the diagram above. Of course, I

realized that black has 20...Nxd2 21.Bxd2 Be2 but here is the
thing: I could not wait to play h5, I have a very weak pawn on
c3 and slow play is not advisable here. I saw that
after 21...Be2

I can simply offer my exchange by capturing on g6 and if my

opponent captures on g6 (hxg or fxg) I will move my rook to e3
with tempo. Now the key here is to understand that
after 22.hxg6 Bxf3 23.gxh7+ Kh8 24.Bxf3 white's
compensation is enough to play for the win.

Page | 15
Example 4: When being under positional Game 4 – Move List:
pressure

This was a game against the strong GM Alexander Delchev,

who is also an author of many books. Here white has a very
annoying pressure over black's position. He is going to
play Rd2-Nc1-a2-b4 and take control over the key square d5. I
started to look for ways to counter attack this plan.

I had no possible pawn ruptures, neither targets to attack and it

became clear that I had fallen into a passive position. The
threat ofNc1-a2-b4 and eventually any knight to d5 was
worrying me the most, then the following idea occurred to
me: Rc7-Rfc8 and Rxc3. I would have a pawn for the
exchange and I would have eliminated my opponent's
positional pressure, at least a little.

The assessment of the position resulting after Rxc3 is still

better for white, but things aren't so simple anymore and I
managed to draw the game.

Page | 16
Page | 17
Example 5: Changing the character of the Game 5 – Move List:
play

Black is fine in the diagram above. The king is safe, everything

looks solid enough but there is a lack of active plan to
breakthrough white's centralized forces. Probably black can
consider moves like 19...Bg7 or 19...f5 with a level game.
However, I saw a much more attractive idea, the
provocative 19...Rh2!?

Tempting my opponent to play 20.Qg3 winning a “free

tempo”, but my rook is not meant to return. The idea was to
eliminate the bishop on g2, take a pawn on e4, and keep on
going as if nothing has happened. The character of play
changes, black is no longer under pressure, white's idea of
playing f4-f5 is never again available, and moreover he will be
on the defensive side, so the sacrifice seems justified.

Page | 18
We hope that, with the examples mentioned above, the reader will enjoy and improve his understanding of the exchange sacrifice
resource and keep it in mind for his future games. Good luck!

Page | 19
10 Winning Chess Combinations: The Rook Sacrifice
In today’s article we will focus on one very important positional element of chess, the exchange sacrifice. The exchange sacrifice
occurs when one side gives up its rook for the opponent’s minor piece. That can be done for various reasons. Some of the most
common motifs for the exchange sacrifice are the destruction of king’s pawn structure, removing of the defender, or setting up a mating
net.

After going through the examples in today’s article you will be able to detect the possibilities of the exchange sacrifice and to effectively
use it in your own games.

Combination 1:

Combination 2:

Page | 20
Combination 3:

Combination 4:

Page | 21
Combination 5:

Combination 6:

Page | 22
Combination 7:

Combination 8:

Page | 23
Combination 9:

Combination 10:

Page | 24