attack · recognise → explain → apply

Sacrifice a bishop to clear a king route

A bishop can be offered to move a pawn and gain a decisive-looking tempo for the king.

Explanation styleChoose any style. Age is not playing strength; no birth date is needed.

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Veselin Topalov – Alexei Shirov

Linares · 1998.03.04 · 0-1

47. Kg1 · Black to move

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What to notice at 47. Kg1

Shirov’s famous 47...Bh3 offered the bishop; the game continued 48.gxh3 Kf5. The lesson is precise king-and-pawn timing, not a general recommendation to sacrifice bishops in endings.

A legally replayed historical example, not a claim that every move is best. A game’s result does not prove every defensive position was lost or drawn.

Game source ↗

Your thinking first

Name the signal, choose a plan, and test the opponent’s most challenging response.

What do you notice?What is your plan, and why?How could the opponent resist?

Recall and explain

1. A bishop can be offered to move a pawn and gain a decisive-looking tempo for the king. How would you apply “sacrifice a bishop to clear a king route”, and which defensive reply must you check?

Explain it in your own words before revealing.

Make it memorable

A bishop can buy a king’s journey.

Teach this to a friend in one minute. Then return to a different example and look for the same signal without being told its name.

Reflect and revisit

This is your self-assessment, not an engine grade or a promise of mastery.

Connect the ideas

Practise pawn transformations →

Sources and further reading

Original LumaChess teaching and game analysis. Topic references are credited below; no affiliation or endorsement is implied.