The Double Bishop Sacrifice

Emanuel Lasker played this game in Amsterdam in January 1889, four years before he would defeat Steinitz for the World Championship. The combination on moves 15–17 — the double bishop sacrifice on h7 and g7 — became the canonical textbook example of how to expose a castled king when both bishops are positioned to strike.

The pattern is famous now. A bishop sacrifices itself on h7 to force the king out; the queen joins the attack with check; the second bishop sacrifices on g7 to force the king further; the queen returns with check, and material is won back with interest in the resulting exposed-king position. Many players have executed the same idea since. Lasker was first.

The opening — Bird’s Opening (1.f4) — is unusual for elite play. Lasker did not return to it often. The game stands on the combination, not the opening.

The setup

By move 13, both white bishops are on the b1–h7 and a1–h8 diagonals respectively, the queen is on e2 ready to swing across, and the rook is on f1 with the f-file ready to open. Black’s pieces are passively placed: knight on f6 covering h7, queen on c6 far from the king. The position is structurally fine for Black. It is the piece geometry that makes the combination possible.

15.Bxh7+! is the first sacrifice — the bishop on d3 takes the h7 pawn. After 15…Kxh7 16.Qxh5+ Kg8 17.Bxg7! Kxg7 18.Qg4+, the second bishop has sacrificed itself, the king is in the open, and the queen swings back with deadly effect. The rest is forced.

Game record

This game between Emanuel Lasker and Johann Bauer was played at the Amsterdam in Amsterdam in 1889. The opening was the Bird’s Opening (ECO A03). The game lasted 34 moves, ending with White winning. It is part of the nineteenth-century chess record.