The exchange sacrifice
Giving up a rook for a minor piece is called an exchange sacrifice. In general terms rooks are considered much stronger than bishops and knights with a ratio like 5:3,25. But sometimes the situation on the chess board is not suited for the slightly clumsy rooks. Recognizing this situations is not easy but in this game I will try to break down the process.
The game is from the Kronborg Chess Open – played in Elsinore I May. I came second and in this game I win against a talented Icelandic junior.
1. c4 e5 2. g3 d6 3. Bg2 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. O-O O-O 7. d3 Nc6 8. Rb1 a5 9. a3 h6 10. b4 axb4 11. axb4 Be6 12. Bd2 Qd7 13. Qc1 Kh7 14. Rd1 Bh3 15. Bh1 Bg4 16. Ne1 Nd4 17. f3 Be6 18. e3 Nc6 19. e4 Nh5 20. Nc2 f5 21. Rf1 Rf7 22. Qe1 Nd4 23. Nxd4 exd4 24. Ne2 Ra3 25. Ra1
25…Rxd3! 26. Nc1 And now the rook is trapped, but… 26…Rc3! 27. Bxc3 dxc3 So what did black get for the exchange? 1) An important pawn on d3 making the sacrifice smaller (5:4,25). 2) The pawn on c4 will also drop making it not really a sacrifice. 3) The passed pawn on c3 is strong – adding to the benefits 4) Blacks two bishops (the bishop pair) has been liberated and are now a strong dominant force 28. Ne2 Bxc4 29. Bg2 Qb5 30. Rf2 fxe4 31. Nxc3 Qxb4 32. Rc1 Bd4 33. Qxe4 Bxf2+ 34. Kxf2 Nf6 35. Qf4 Qc5+ 36. Ke1 Qg1+ 0-1
