Sacrifice

What is a sacrifice?

A sacrifice is when you give away material on purpose (a pawn, a piece, even the queen) to get something better back. It might be mate, more material a few moves later, or an attack that can't be stopped.

The difference between a sacrifice and a piece thrown away is that the sacrifice is calculated. Before you sacrifice, you should be able to say what you get for it. Often the sacrifice tears open the king's shelter, lures a piece to a bad square, or opens a line for your rooks and queen.

A puzzle counts as a sacrifice when the solution gives away material for the moment. In the puzzles here something better always waits on the other side, but you have to see it before you let go of the piece.

How the puzzles work

There are 150 puzzles here. Choose a level above the board. Within each level the puzzles get harder and harder, and when you come back you pick up where you left off.

Your opponent makes the first move, then it's your turn. If you get stuck, Hint shows which piece to move, and Show the solution plays the rest. The theme only shows once the puzzle is done, but here you already know what you're looking for.

In Puzzle training you get puzzles in this theme at your own level, and see how you're doing in each theme.

More puzzles

• Mate in one
• Mate in two
• Mate in three
• Fork
• Pin
• Skewer
• Discovered attack
• Double check
• Deflection
• Attraction
• Hanging piece
• In-between move
• Back-rank mate
• Smothered mate
• Promotion
• Endgame
• Rook endgames
• Pawn endgames
• Zugzwang

The puzzles come from Lichess, fetched on October 2, 2026.

Updated November 6, 2026