Greek gift sacrifice

Greek gift sacrifices, or the threat of them, occur relatively frequently in play, especially at amateur level.

One of the most famous examples of the sacrifice is found in the game Edgard Colle–John O'Hanlon, Nice 1930.

Kxh7 8.Ng5+ to force Black to give up the queen to prevent mate: The etymology of the phrase "Greek gift" in this context is not entirely clear.

The obvious explanation is that it alludes to the Trojan Horse, and specifically to Laocoön's famous Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes ("I fear the Greeks even when they bring gifts", Virgil's Aeneid II.49).

The Oxford Companion to Chess, however, suggests that one explanation is that the sacrifice often occurred in Gioachino Greco's games.