Lesson 2: The Nd5 sacrifice

This lesson is on a thematic sacrifice in the

Sicilian Defence involving White playing
Nc3-d5 when Black has a pawn on e6.
There are two types of situation:
1) capturing the Knight leads to White
regaining the material quickly in a forced
line and leaves him (or her, Ill use him
for ease of writing) with a positional edge.
2) White sacrifices the Knight for a pawn
and an attack. With energetic play, this
often leads to a win but if Black is given
time or space to develop, Whites
advantage will disappear and Black will
win thanks to his material advantage.
We will be concentrating on the second
situation but give the following examples
of the first.
1) Combination

Engel Oeser, 1942

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18.Nd5 if exd5 19. exd5+ Be7 20. dxc6

and White has gained a pawn and its a
protected passed pawn just 2 squares away
from Queening.

Richter - Reinhardt, 1935

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11.Nd5
One of the points about this move is that
d5 is a great square for the Knight, if Black
doesnt do something about the Knight
then it can often stay on d5 and limit
Blacks options. For example, if he plays
11...Be7 we can just take the Bishop,
giving us the advantage of the Bishop Pair.
Now 11...exd5 12.exd5+ Be7 13.Nf5 wins
the Bishop as 13...Ng8 14.Nxd6+
This leaves Black a pawn down with a
backward, isolated pawn on d6 and some
King safety issues as 13...0-0? 14.Nxe7+
wins the exchange.

Reti - Meyer, 1919

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14.Nd5 and if 14...exd5 15.exd5 and the
Knight cant escape capture without
leaving the e-file open and losing the
Queen to a discovered Bg5+ Ne7 16.d6
Bxg2 17.Kxg2.

Richter, - Groneberg, 1950

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8.Nd5 with the Nc6 pinned exd5 9. exd5+

wins the material back immediately with
the advantage of the weak d6 pawn and
open e-file for White.

Reti - Tartakower, 1919

11.Nd5

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if 11...exd5 12.Nxc6! Bxc6 13. exd5+
gives White the advantage.
The following is an important example of
when playing Nd5 is not a good idea:

Bastrikov - Terpugov, 1954

12.Nd5?

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12...exd5 13.exd5+ Ne5 14.f4 f6 the
position of the Bg5 allows Black to
counter and stay ahead in material
15.Kh1? Getting out of the way of a
possible Bc5 after the d-pawn recaptures
on e5 [15.fxe5 dxe5 and the Queen has to
move because of Bc5; 15.Bh4 Be7 16.fxe5
dxe5 17.Qe4 g5]
15...0-0-0 16.Bh4 Ng6 and Black has got
his King to safety and emerged a piece up.
What was the problem here? Mainly that
by playing f4 to regain the Knight, White
blocks off the escape route for his Bishop.
Also, White should have seen that he
would still lose material with 15. Kh1 and
found another way out with 15. Rad1! 00-0 16. fxe5 dxe5 17. d6! when he is only
losing a pawn after exd4 18. dxc7 Kxc7
19. Bf4+

2) True Sacrifice
The great thing about this sacrifice is it
involves real attacking play. White
exchanges one of the elements of chess,
force (material) for two others (time and
space). He must use these wisely to win.
Becoming familiar with these positions
will improve your all-round attacking skill.
Understanding how to keep your opponent
under pressure is at least as important as an
eye for combinations. If possible, play
these positions against another player (or a
computer set to 2000 Elo strength) as both
colours to get an idea of the aims and
problems for both sides.
The Nd5 sacrifice is effective when White
has a big lead in development. White
normally has a Rook (sometimes Queen)
on the e-file, in line with the Black King
and offers the Knight in exchange for
opening this file and displacing the King
(blocking with Be7 leads to ruin).
Black must now try to develop his pieces
and keep his King safe but usually has
very few squares available. Exchanges will
generally favour Black.
Time is a big factor for both sides. If
White doesnt keep Black tied up
defending against threats then he will lose
the initiative and be in trouble on account
of the material deficit. Black will look for
moves that create space for his pieces
(including flight squares for his King) and
force White to defend a piece/pawn at the
same time.
White has several mini-plans or options to
be aware of:
1. Open the c-file with c3/c4. The cfile is half-open already. Opening
the c-file and controlling it and the
e-file with Rooks leaves Blacks
King trapped on the d-file ready to
be mated.

2. Play Nd4-c6. Again, this limits the

Kings movement as well as
Blacks other Queenside pieces.
Black will often be forced to
exchange Knights on c6 which will
bring the d5 pawn to that square,
controlling b7/d7 and still
restricting Black. The pawn can
become a promotion threat in some
positions. Timing is very important
with this move.
3. Attack f7. This square can become
weak if Black develops a piece
along the 7th rank and obstructs the
Queens defence of it. Exchanging
a Bishop for a Black Knight on f6
leaves the f-pawns doubled and
isolated. White can attack with a
move like Qh5. Getting a Queen to
f7 allows White to attack along
both the 7th and 8th Ranks, giving
Blacks King nowhere to go to.

Game 1: Stein Furman, 1969

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6
5.Nc3 Qc7 6.g3 b5 7.Bg2 Bb7 8.0-0 Nf6
9.Re1 d6 10.a4! encouraging Black's next
move 10...b4 11.Nd5!

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attacking the Queen and b4 pawn.

11...exd5
Can Black decline the sacrifice? 11...Qa5
12.Bd2 and Black has to take the Knight or
lose the b-pawn; 11...Nxd5 12.exd5 e5
blocks in the dark-squared Bishop and
gives Black problems developing. The c6
pawn limits both the Queenside Knight
and Bishop, the e5 pawn is pinned so
White can keep the Knight centrally
placed, the b4 pawn is loose (and playing
...a5 will concede the b5 square) and White
can keep a big advantage by active play.
For example, 13.Be3! Be7 (13...exd4
14.Bg5+) 14.Nf5 Bf6 15.Qg4 g6 16.Qc4!
12.exd5+
White sacrifices the Knight for a pawn and
an attack on the King. White has much
better development, control of the open efile and Black's King is going to be stuck
in the centre. Played correctly, this is close
to a won position for White but if Black is
allowed to develop sufficiently then the
tables can be turned quickly.
12...Kd8 Not 12...Be7? when 13.Nf5 wins
the piece back giving White a dominating
position and an extra pawn. 13...0-0
(13...Ng8? loses quickly to 14.Bg5 as f6?
15.Nxg7+ Kd7 (15...Kf7 16.Ne6
threatening the Queen and mate in 1)
16.Qg4+ Kd8 17.Ne6+) 14.Rxe7 Nbd7
15.Bg5]
13.Bg5! natural and strong. The Bishop
restricts the most free Black minor piece
and threatens to double and isolate the
Kingside pawns. Just as important though,
is vacating the c1 square for a Rook opening the c-file would be very
dangerous for Black.
13...Nbd7 14.Qe2?! threatening mate in 1
[14.Nc6+ is the strongest move]

14...Kc8? 14...Qc5! is best, making space

for the King on c7 with tempo by making
threats against the d4 Knight and d5 pawn.
With the King on c7, the Rooks will be
closer to connecting too.
15.c3! b3 clearly 15...bxc3 16.Rac1 is
going to be crushing.
16.Nc6! immobilising the King and
threatening Qe8+

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16...Bxc6 16...h6? 17.Qe8+! Nxe8
18.Rxe8+ Qd8 19.Bxd8 and the discovered
check is devastating.

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(Variation) Position after 19. Bxd8
17.dxc6 Ne5 White is still down a minor
piece for a pawn, the pressure must be kept
up.
18.Ra3 18.Bh3+ first is stronger 18...Kb8
19.Ra3
18...d5? played in order to vacate d6 for
the Bishop but the d5 pawn is an easy
target now. 18...Rb8 holding on to the bpawn and forcing White to relocate his
Rook is interesting but 19.Qxa6+ Kd8
20.Raa1 is still good for White
19.Rxb3 Bd6 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Bxd5 Nxc6
22.Qg4+ 22.Qf3! keeps Queens (and the
pressure) on and wins material.
22...Qd7 23.Qxd7+ Kxd7

41.Rf5 Re7 42.h5 Re5 43.Rf4+ Kc5

44.h6 1-0

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So the Queens are off and White only has
2 pawns for the piece, however, White's
Rooks are much more active, Black's King
is open to being forced around by checks
and the Black pawns are isolated and
weak. Compare them to White's 2 pawn
islands and the passed c-pawn.
24.Rb7+! 24.Bxf7? Na5! and Black is
winning as the Rook is trapped 25.Rb6
Kc7
24...Bc7 25.Bg2! 25.Bf3? Ne5
25...Rad8 25...Ne5? 26.Rd1+ Kc8 27.Rb3!
and the King is trapped on the c-file with
the Rook en prise. 27...Ra7 28.Bh3+
26.Bh3+ and White continues to make use
of the exposed King to swap off pieces and
create passed pawns which win the game.
26...Kd6 27.Rd1+ Kc5 28.b4+ Kc4
29.Bf1+ Kb3 30.Rxc7 Rxd1 31.Rxc6
Kxa4 32.Kg2 a5 33.bxa5 Rhd8 34.Rxf6
R8d7 35.a6 Rc1 36.Bd3 Rxc3 37.Bxh7
Kb5 38.Be4 Ra3 39.Bb7 Kc5 40.h4 Kd4

Game 2: Van Schoor, - Borja, 1960

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6
5.Nc3 Qc7 6.g3 Nf6 7.Bg2 b5 8.0-0 Bb7
9.Re1 d6 10.Nd5!

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10...exd5 11.exd5+ Kd8 [11...Kd7 leaves
the b8 Knight with nowhere to go]
12.Bg5 Bc8 with the idea of keeping the
Knight out of f5 after Be7
13.Bxf6+ gxf6 14.Qh5

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This attack on f7 means that Black can't
put a piece on d7 or e7 as it would obstruct
the Queen's defence of the pawn. As you
can see, this doesn't leave Black with
many moves!
14...Ra7 Defending the e7 square from
invasion by a Rook after White doubles
Rooks on the e-file and Black plays Bg7.
15.Re3 Qd7? A waste of time. 15...Bg7
could have been played as 16.Rc3 doesn't
achieve anything.
16.Rae1 Bg7 17.Re6!? Re4 could have
been played straight away but this is a
tempting move. Black can't take the Rook
17.Re7? allows Black to exchange off and
emerge with a material advantage and
more freedom for his pieces (including
King).

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17...Qc7 17...fxe6? 18.Nxe6+ Ke7
19.Nxg7+ Kf8 20.Ne6+ Ke7 21.Qh6 Rd8
22.Qg7+ Ke8 23.Nc7#!
18.R6e4 f5? Black has very few playable
moves as this shows
19.Nxf5? this releases some of the
pressure 19.Qh4+ f6 20.Re6! Rf8 21.Qf4!
the threats and the pressure keep piling up!
21...Bd7 (21...Rh8 22.Rxd6+ Bd7
23.Ne6+) 22.Re7 Rg8 23.Ne6+]
19...Bxf5 20.Qg5+ a zwischenzug (inbetween move) so that the Bishop can be
retaken with check after Kc8

20...f6?

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This looks tempting, the Queen and Rook
defend against the 7th rank and White will
not capture with check, however it creates
a hole on e6, shuts in the g7 Bishop and
the King is still in the centre. Notice how
the removal from the board of the lightsquared Bishop allows White to use other
lines of attack and involve the Bishop that
has been sat on g2.
Black should have taken the opportunity to
get his King to safety and get his Knight
into the game with 20...Kc8 21.Qxf5+ Nd7
22.Qxf7? Ne5
21.Qxf5 Qf7 22.Bh3 mate threat
22...Rd7 22...Nd7 23.Re7 Qxe7 24.Rxe7
Kxe7 25.Qe6+ and White's advantage will
be in the lack of mobility for Black and the
advanced d-pawn.
23.Qf4 [23.c4! is very strong. White will
open the c-file and double the Rooks there
as c8 cannot be adequately defended.
23...bxc4 (23...b4 24.c5! dxc5 25.d6! with
Qxc5 and Qa5/b6+ to follow.) 24.Rxc4 h5
25.Rec1

23...Qxd5? now White wins back the

material and Black still has poorly placed
pieces. The game finishes quickly. 23...f5
makes life easier for Black although White
is still better after 24.Bxf5 Bxb2 25.Qe3
(25.Bxd7 Qxf4 26.Rxf4 Nxd7) 25...Rb7

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24.Bxd7 Nxd7 25.Rd4 Qb7 26.Qxd6
Re8 27.Rxe8+ Kxe8 28.Qe6+ Kd8
29.Qg8+ 1-0