Chess tactics
What Is a Clearance Sacrifice in Chess?
A clearance sacrifice is a move that gives up a piece, usually with tempo, to empty a square or open a line that another of your pieces needs. The point is not what the sacrificed piece does but what its absence makes possible.
Example
1. Nf6+ gxf6 2. Qxh7#
The knight on e4 blocks the queen's diagonal to h7. Nf6+ clears it with check. After gxf6, Qxh7 is mate, with the rook on h3 guarding the queen. Kh8 instead also allows Qxh7 mate.
How a clearance sacrifice works
Sometimes your own piece is in the way. It blocks a line your queen or rook needs, or it sits on the square another piece wants. Moving it quietly would give the opponent time to defend, so you move it with force, by giving check or making a threat, even if it gets captured.
In the example the knight blocks the d3 to h7 diagonal. Any knight move opens the line, but Nf6+ is check, so Black has no time to cover h7.
Line clearance and square clearance
In line clearance the sacrificed piece opens a rank, file, or diagonal, as in the example. In square clearance it vacates a square, often so a knight or queen can use it for a fork or a mate. Both rely on the same idea: the move that clears must be forcing.
How to spot one
When you find a winning idea that fails only because your own piece is in the way, look for a forcing move for that piece: a check, a capture, or a threat against the queen. Batteries of queen and bishop or queen and rook are where clearance sacrifices most often appear.
Common questions
What is the difference between a clearance sacrifice and a discovered attack?
They are close relatives. In a discovered attack the moving piece uncovers an immediate attack. In a clearance sacrifice the moving piece is given up so another piece can use the line or square on the next move.
Does a clearance sacrifice have to lose material?
Usually the cleared piece is offered and may be taken, which is why it is called a sacrifice. What matters is that the line or square it frees is worth more than the piece.
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