attack · recognise → explain → apply

Destroy a pawn shield with a double bishop sacrifice

Two bishops can remove different shelter pawns with forcing follow-up.

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

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Choose an example

Garry Kasparov – Lajos Portisch

Niksic · 1983.08.28 · 1-0

18... Bxd5 · White to move

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What to notice at 18... Bxd5

Kasparov’s 19.Bxh7+ was followed by 21.Bxg7. The rook on d5 and the knight’s arrival on e5 were essential parts of the actual game continuation.

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. Two bishops can remove different shelter pawns with forcing follow-up. How would you apply “destroy a pawn shield with a double bishop sacrifice”, and which defensive reply must you check?

Explain it in your own words before revealing.

Make it memorable

Two sacrifices need one complete calculation.

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.