Answers.Body: <p>As <a href="https://chess.stackexchange.com/a/34582/7297">@Ibrahim explains</a>, you'll win the queen back, but after that White can even take the pawn on f7:</p>
  <pre><code>[FEN &quot;&quot;]
  [StartPly &quot;10&quot;]
  
  1. e4 e5 2. Qf3 c6 3. Bxc4 Nf6 4. d3 d6 5. Bg5 Bg4 6. Qxg4 Nxg4 7. Bxd8 Kxd8 8. Bxf7
  </code></pre>
  <p>and White is a pawn up.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2021-03-24T20:07:00.473Z
Answers.Text: This is really the point, and what makes Qg3 a mistake
Answers.UserDisplayName: BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2021-03-24T07:54:33.803Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2021-03-24T07:54:33.803Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Glorfindel
Answers.Body: <p>The other answers already explain what's going on, but there's standard terminology for it:</p>
  <p><em>This is not actually a sacrifice, merely a queen <strong>trade</strong>, because <strong>the knight is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pin_(chess)" rel="noreferrer">pinned</a></strong> against the black queen.</em></p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2021-03-25T16:51:56.877Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2021-03-25T16:51:56.877Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: leftaroundabout
Answers.Body: <p>Then you can take f7 with bishop and you are one pawn up</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2021-03-25T13:36:46.040Z
Answers.Text: Why are you simply repeating (which less details) what another answer is already saying? Please only add answers when they improve on or add to already existing answers.
Answers.UserDisplayName: John Coleman
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2021-03-25T12:40:04.897Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2021-03-25T12:40:04.897Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Andreas Pappas
Answers.Body: <p>Material superiority does not always equate with winning. A myriad of games have been won by players with less point values on the board.</p>
  <p>For the reason above, running an analysis may not show the advantage of a particular move until a dozen or so moves later.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2021-03-25T03:28:55.060Z
Answers.Text: Welcome to chess.se! Before posting an answer, please ensure that you are in fact answering the question posed, and consider how your answer improves upon existing answers. In particular, this answer could benefit from an example where the advantage is only apparent after a dozen moves; this certainly does not apply to the position given in the question.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Brian Drake
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2021-03-25T03:25:21.430Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2021-03-25T03:25:21.430Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Djard
Answers.Body: <p>It's basically a trade. After you take the bishop, if the opponent takes your queen with the knight, then your bishop is no longer blocked by the knight and you can take their queen too. The advantage here is that after the trade, the opponent's king will have to take your bishop, and thus can no longer castle.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2021-03-24T17:29:54.527Z
Answers.Text: "...that after the trade, the opponent's king will have to take your bishop" why does the opponents king have to take the bishop? The bishop isn't threatening the king right?
Answers.UserDisplayName: BruceWayne
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2021-03-24T17:37:09.887Z
Answers.Text: @BruceWayne The opponent should take the bishop, otherwise the opponent is down an officer.  It's a take-back.
Answers.UserDisplayName: John K.
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2021-03-24T17:37:48.570Z
Answers.Text: @PålGD ah ok. I figured it'd be better for black to take that bishop, but was curious if the king "had to take" it. Thanks!
Answers.UserDisplayName: BruceWayne
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2021-03-24T18:08:42.883Z
Answers.Text: But castling's not worth much anymore. One more trade of pieces and it's time to consider moving the king to the center.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Joshua
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2021-03-24T21:23:09.627Z
Answers.Text: @BruceWayne - this kind of concept of moves that you "have to" make (even though they're not required by the rules) is something I struggled with for a long time when I was first starting in chess.  For example, if I was looking at some analysis where, for example, Black ended up down material or something, I would think "Why does Black have to do that?  Why don't they just do something else that is better?"  It was a long time before I realized the answer is usually, "If they don't play along the analysis line, everything else they might try is actually worse".
Answers.UserDisplayName: patbarron
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2021-03-30T09:19:57.997Z
Answers.Text: Why does the second paragraph indicate captures? There were no captures in the opening in the question.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Brian Drake
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2021-03-24T07:33:20.197Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2021-03-31T03:16:40.403Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2021-03-31T03:16:40.403Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Ibrahim
Body: <p>I am a beginner. Recently I have looked at the computer-generated analysis of one of my games and I found a surprising recommendation. Why is it best to sacrifice my Queen in this situation, as the screenshot shows?</p>
  <pre><code>[FEN &quot;&quot;]
  [StartPly &quot;10&quot;]
  
  1. e4 e5 2. Qf3 c6 3. Bxc4 Nf6 4. d3 d6 5. Bg5 Bg4
  </code></pre>
  <hr />
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/AEvfb.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/AEvfbl.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2021-03-24T08:15:59.577Z
Comments.Text: Since you are a beginner, you probably did not see this trick which is fairly standard in this position: 1.Bxf6 Bxf3 2.Bxd8. "Normally" after this you are a figure up. Unfortunately, chess is all about details, and in exactly this position it backfires due to Bxg2. Still, memorize the pattern!
Comments.UserDisplayName: Hauke Reddmann
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2021-03-24T08:26:32.733Z
Comments.Text: If you are beginner, you should focus more on reading some good book and doing some tactics training. Also when engine tells you something - and you don't understand why - just make that move on analysis board and see what engine will say next - it would show you that at the end of exchanges white get material advantage by taking pawn on f7.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Drako
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2021-03-25T01:31:52.187Z
Comments.Text: @HaukeReddmann  After 6 Bxf6 Bxf3 7 Bxd8 Bxg2 8 Bg5 (or Ba5, Bh4) Bxh1 
  we must analyze further to see if the Bh1 can be trapped after 9 f3, 10 Kf2 etc.
  Black could also try 6 Bxf6 Qd7 (or Qc8), making it a Bishop-for-Knight trade
  after all.  As **Glorfindel** noted, though, White could have won a pawn
  with 7 Qxg4 Nxg4 8 Bxd8 Kxd8 9 Bxf7; White also had the option of playing
  Bxf7+ on move 7 or 8.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Noam D. Elkies
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2021-03-29T17:04:31.697Z
Comments.Text: The biggest mistake was attempting the Scholar's Mate to begin with.
Comments.UserDisplayName: SecretAgentMan
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2021-03-29T23:05:00.857Z
Comments.Text: You are not sacrificing anything. You'll capture the enemy queen after your opponent takes yours. All you have to do to find this out for yourself is play the suggested move and follow the line indicated by the computer.
Comments.UserDisplayName: David
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2021-03-29T23:06:06.717Z
Comments.Text: @SecretAgentMan playing a suboptimal opening is nowhere near as big of a mistake as missing this opportunity
Comments.UserDisplayName: David
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2021-03-31T02:24:24.707Z
Comments.Text: @David Clearly my sarcasm didn't come through.  Still though, attempting the Scholar's Mate is a poor way to play the game.  Have fun though!
Comments.UserDisplayName: SecretAgentMan
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2021-04-01T05:46:05.757Z
Comments.Text: @SecretAgentMan I think sarcasm is advised against on Stack Exchange, and on the Internet more generally, given that users come from a wide variety of cultures from all over the world. I also took your comment literally.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Brian Drake
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2021-04-02T12:54:28.547Z
Comments.Text: @BrianDrake Thank you for the admonishment.
Comments.UserDisplayName: SecretAgentMan
Tags: <engines><learning>
Title: Why does the engine tell me to sacrifice a queen for bishop after a failed Scholar's mate?
ThreadText: # Why does the engine tell me to sacrifice a queen for bishop after a failed Scholar's mate?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2021-03-24)
  
  I am a beginner. Recently I have looked at the computer-generated analysis of one of my games and I found a surprising recommendation. Why is it best to sacrifice my Queen in this situation, as the screenshot shows?
  [FEN ""]
  [StartPly "10"]
  
  1. e4 e5 2. Qf3 c6 3. Bxc4 Nf6 4. d3 d6 5. Bg5 Bg4
  
  **Tags:** engines, learning
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: Since you are a beginner, you probably did not see this trick which is fairly standard in this position: 1.Bxf6 Bxf3 2.Bxd8. "Normally" after this you are a figure up. Unfortunately, chess is all about details, and in exactly this position it backfires due to Bxg2. Still, memorize the pattern!  
  > **username_2**: If you are beginner, you should focus more on reading some good book and doing some tactics training. Also when engine tells you something - and you don't understand why - just make that move on analysis board and see what engine will say next - it would show you that at the end of exchanges white get material advantage by taking pawn on f7.  
  > **username_3**: @HaukeReddmann  After 6 Bxf6 Bxf3 7 Bxd8 Bxg2 8 Bg5 (or Ba5, Bh4) Bxh1  we must analyze further to see if the Bh1 can be trapped after 9 f3, 10 Kf2 etc. Black could also try 6 Bxf6 Qd7 (or Qc8), making it a Bishop-for-Knight trade after all.  As **username_7** noted, though, White could have won a pawn with 7 Qxg4 Nxg4 8 Bxd8 Kxd8 9 Bxf7; White also had the option of playing Bxf7+ on move 7 or 8.  
  > **username_4**: The biggest mistake was attempting the Scholar's Mate to begin with.  
  > **username_5**: You are not sacrificing anything. You'll capture the enemy queen after your opponent takes yours. All you have to do to find this out for yourself is play the suggested move and follow the line indicated by the computer.  
  > **username_5**: @username_4 playing a suboptimal opening is nowhere near as big of a mistake as missing this opportunity  
  > **username_4**: @username_5 Clearly my sarcasm didn't come through.  Still though, attempting the Scholar's Mate is a poor way to play the game.  Have fun though!  
  > **username_6**: @username_4 I think sarcasm is advised against on Stack Exchange, and on the Internet more generally, given that users come from a wide variety of cultures from all over the world. I also took your comment literally.  
  > **username_4**: @BrianDrake Thank you for the admonishment.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 5 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_13 on 2021-03-24. Score: 40 | Accepted answer
  
  It's basically a trade. After you take the bishop, if the opponent takes your queen with the knight, then your bishop is no longer blocked by the knight and you can take their queen too. The advantage here is that after the trade, the opponent's king will have to take your bishop, and thus can no longer castle.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_14**: "...that after the trade, the opponent's king will have to take your bishop" why does the opponents king have to take the bishop? The bishop isn't threatening the king right?  
  > **username_15**: @username_14 The opponent should take the bishop, otherwise the opponent is down an officer.  It's a take-back.  
  > **username_14**: @PålGD ah ok. I figured it'd be better for black to take that bishop, but was curious if the king "had to take" it. Thanks!  
  > **username_16**: But castling's not worth much anymore. One more trade of pieces and it's time to consider moving the king to the center.  
  > **username_17**: @username_14 - this kind of concept of moves that you "have to" make (even though they're not required by the rules) is something I struggled with for a long time when I was first starting in chess.  For example, if I was looking at some analysis where, for example, Black ended up down material or something, I would think "Why does Black have to do that?  Why don't they just do something else that is better?"  It was a long time before I realized the answer is usually, "If they don't play along the analysis line, everything else they might try is actually worse".  
  > **username_6**: Why does the second paragraph indicate captures? There were no captures in the opening in the question.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_7 on 2021-03-24. Score: 36
  
  As @username_13 explains, you'll win the queen back, but after that White can even take the pawn on f7:
  [FEN ""]
  [StartPly "10"]
  
  1. e4 e5 2. Qf3 c6 3. Bxc4 Nf6 4. d3 d6 5. Bg5 Bg4 6. Qxg4 Nxg4 7. Bxd8 Kxd8 8. Bxf7
  
  and White is a pawn up.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_8**: This is really the point, and what makes Qg3 a mistake  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_9 on 2021-03-25. Score: 8
  
  The other answers already explain what's going on, but there's standard terminology for it:
  
  *This is not actually a sacrifice, merely a queen **trade**, because **the knight is [pinned](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pin_(chess))** against the black queen.*
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_10 on 2021-03-25. Score: -4
  
  Then you can take f7 with bishop and you are one pawn up
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_11**: Why are you simply repeating (which less details) what another answer is already saying? Please only add answers when they improve on or add to already existing answers.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_12 on 2021-03-25. Score: -5
  
  Material superiority does not always equate with winning. A myriad of games have been won by players with less point values on the board.
  
  For the reason above, running an analysis may not show the advantage of a particular move until a dozen or so moves later.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_6**: Welcome to chess.se! Before posting an answer, please ensure that you are in fact answering the question posed, and consider how your answer improves upon existing answers. In particular, this answer could benefit from an example where the advantage is only apparent after a dozen moves; this certainly does not apply to the position given in the question.  
  
  ---
  
  