A simple example illustrating the first definition comes from a 1958 game between future world champions Tigran Petrosian and Bobby Fischer (see diagram).
To avoid this, Black sacrificed the h5-knight, capturing a pawn with tempo on the rook: Fischer later said 13...dxe5 would have been better;[3] the game ended in a draw.
[4] A classic example of the first definition is Bogoljubow–Schmid, West German championship, Bad Pyrmont 1949.
In the position shown, Schmid played the surprising novelty 5...
?, with the point that 6.Nxe4 would be met by 6...Qe7 7.f3 d5, and Black will regain the sacrificed piece.
According to the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings, White can then gain a small advantage with 8.Bb5 Bd7 9.Bxc6 bxc6 10.0-0 dxe4 11.fxe4!
Instead of 7.f3, Tartakower and du Mont recommend 7.Nb5 Qxe4+ 8.Be2 Kd8 9.0-0 "with compensations for the mislaid pawn".
Nxf7 Since 8.Kxd1 Kxd8 would leave White a pawn down, the knight continues capturing.
(Bogoljubow probably saw 17.Bxf5 Nxf5 18.Ng5 Be3+ wins, and played Ng5 in desperation; however, 17.Bxf5 Nxf5 18.Rf1 was possible) 17... Bxg6 18.
(The desperado knight strikes again, this time with deadly effect.
Its White counterpart captured the queen, a rook, both bishops, a knight, and two pawns in its 14 moves.)
0–1 Another example of this type of desperado is Tal–Keres, Candidates Tournament, Curaçao 1962[7] (see diagram).
Seeing that White's knight on d4 is unprotected, Keres offered to simplify the position with 18...
Kh2 If White captures the knight, 21...Qb6+ regains the piece and leaves Black with a won game.
[8] One of the best known examples of sacrificing a desperado piece to achieve stalemate is the game between Carl Pilnick and Sammy Reshevsky, US Championship 1942[9] (see diagram).
Another of the best known examples involves a swindle in a game by Larry Evans versus Samuel Reshevsky.
Capturing it results in stalemate, but otherwise it stays on the seventh rank and checks Black's king ad infinitum.
Reshevsky also fell into a stalemating trap against Efim Geller in the Zürich 1953 Candidates Tournament.
winning a crucial pawn; again, White could not take the rook without resulting in stalemate.
The game continued: and the players agreed to a draw a few moves later.
[14] Another famous game saved by the possibility of stalemate is Keres–Fischer, Curaçao 1962.
[15] Although Fischer avoided the stalemating lines, he allowed Keres to draw by perpetual check instead.
[16] Sometimes it is possible for the inferior side to sacrifice two or three pieces in rapid succession to achieve a stalemate.
In Korchnoi–Vaganian, Skellefteå 1989,[18] a similar three-piece sacrifice might have enabled Vaganian to save the game.
Kh4 Jacob Aagaard notes that now "White had a winning endgame, which Korchnoi indeed won."
[20][21] This endgame position is from a game between Ravi Gopal Hegde and Semon Palatnik, Kozhikode 1988.
Black resigned in this position but had an easy draw: (threatening 61...Bxa7), etc.
[23] Capturing the bishop results in a stalemate, allowing 61...Bxa7 is a draw, and 61.Rh7 Bg7 leads to a repetition of position.
Now (see diagram) the game ended with: If Black captures the queen, it is stalemate.
Black draws after:[24] Capturing the rook results in stalemate.