A '''sacrifice''' occurs when a player intentionally allows one of his own pieces to be captured in exchange for a better position, later material gain, or even checkmate. Often, the piece is offered in an attempt to get the opponent to weaken his own defenses by capturing with a piece that had been in a good defensive position. Morphy was well known for his games featuring many sacrifices, as was [[Mikhail Tal]], a Latvian who was briefly world champion in the 1960s. | A '''sacrifice''' occurs when a player intentionally allows one of his own pieces to be captured in exchange for a better position, later material gain, or even checkmate. Often, the piece is offered in an attempt to get the opponent to weaken his own defenses by capturing with a piece that had been in a good defensive position. Morphy was well known for his games featuring many sacrifices, as was [[Mikhail Tal]], a Latvian who was briefly world champion in the 1960s. |