The Greek Gift is a bishop sacrifice on h7 (or h2 for Black), giving up the bishop with check to drag the castled king out and launch a mating attack.
The idea is to play Bxh7+ so that after Kxh7 the king is pulled to h7, then Ng5+ brings a knight in with check and the queen swings to h5, hunting the exposed king. The pawn and bishop are the price of the attack.
It only works under the right conditions: a bishop aimed at h7, a knight ready to reach g5, a queen that can reach the h-file, and an enemy king with no easy defenders — especially when Black has played a move that loosens the kingside.
Knowing the pattern matters even if you never play it — recognising when the Greek Gift is in the air tells you when not to castle into it, and when a tempting structure is actually a trap.
It refers to the Trojan Horse — a gift that hides an attack. The bishop is offered freely, but taking it lets in the assault that follows.
No. It relies on specific conditions — a knight able to reach g5, the queen reaching the h-file, and no defenders. Without them the sacrifice can simply lose a piece.
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