Sacrificing the exchange is a very common way of obtaining a positional advantage or winning because of a deadly attack!
The exchange sacrifice is when someone gives up a rook for a knight or a bishop. While it does give up material, it’s not a real sacrifice because you don’t lose a piece, you simply trade off a more powerful piece (in theory) for a less powerful one.
Minor pieces are worth 3 points, rooks are worth 5. But this only applies if they are given scope. Each piece could be worth 0 or 9, depending on what it’s doing and how useful it is. A rook behind its pawns is useless, so is a bishop, or a knight on a8.
Thinking of pieces as if their value is fixed is wrong. A pawn on the 7th rank is worth more than 1 point, isn’t it?
That is why the exchange sacrifice is a viable pattern. If the rook was absolutely worth more than knights or bishops, the player who sacrifices would always lose!
Garry Kasparov developed a concept of material vs quality vs time, in which all three aspects are valuable and one can be substituted for another in order to improve your position. The exchange sacrifice can be looked through it as well. If you gain valuable time or improve your pieces while giving up material, then it’s a good trade.
Rooks are often stuck on their original squares (especially the queenside rook) for a long time. Imagine trading off your a8 rook for your opponent’s f6 knight on move 3. Wouldn’t that be great? Well, that example is extreme, but if you have such ideas in mind, the opportunity for beautiful exchange sacrifices will arise!
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