Greek gift sacrifice


In chess, the Greek gift sacrifice is a typical sacrifice of a bishop by White playing Bxh7+ or Black playing...Bxh2+.
Greek gift sacrifices, or the threat of them, occur relatively frequently in play, especially at the lower levels. One of the most famous examples of the sacrifice is found in the game Edgard Colle–John O'Hanlon, Nice 1930. Less commonly, a Greek gift sacrifice may be the prelude to a double bishop sacrifice, as seen in the game Lasker–Bauer, Amsterdam 1889.

Illustration

The position after the moves 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Nf3 Bb4 6.Bd3 0-0 is a simple case where the Greek gift sacrifice works. White can play 7.Bxh7+ Kxh7 8.Ng5+ to force Black to give up the queen to prevent mate:
The etymology of the phrase "Greek gift" in this context is not entirely clear. The obvious explanation is that it alludes to the Trojan Horse, and specifically to Laocoön's famous timeo danaos et dona ferentes. The Oxford Companion to Chess, however, suggests that one explanation is that the sacrifice often occurred in Gioachino Greco's games.