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The f7 pawn

The f7 pawn

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This may seem like an odd question, but I was wondering, when is a bishop/knight worth taking the pawn on f7 (if ever)?

Assuming the exchange involves no other pieces than a bishop/knight taking the f7 pawn and an uncastled king taking the piece in response.

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When it's better than not.

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Originally posted by XanthosNZ
When it's better than not.
That was a very helpful response. But to the thread starter - I have read that it is rarely worth it to trade your 2 minor pieces for a rook and a pawn. I looked in chessbase and couldn't find a game played by players over 1500 in the 2 knights defense or giouco piano where black had castled and white took on f7. I was assuming you were talking about a situation similar to this

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I was thinking of an uncastled king scenerio, where blacks only good option is to use his king to take the minor piece in exchange for his pawn.

I've watched a lot of Paul Morphy's games and i realized that occasionally he took out the f7 pawn at the cost of a knight or bishop before the king had castled. I was just wondering if there were certain circumstances in normal play that make exchanges like that a solid choice for white. If so what signs should I look for?

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Originally posted by LordofADown
I was thinking of an uncastled king scenerio, where blacks only good option is to use his king to take the minor piece in exchange for his pawn.

I've watched a lot of Paul Morphy's games and i realized that occasionally he took out the f7 pawn at the cost of a knight or bishop before the king had castled. I was just wondering if there were certain ci ...[text shortened]... y that make exchanges like that a solid choice for white. If so what signs should I look for?
Oh I am sorry, I misread your question. I guess I wasn't helpful either.

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It's a question of whether you can get enough of an attack on the open king to compensate for the material. I'd advise looking at Vukovic's 'Art Of Attack In Chess' if you're interested in this type of thing.

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Thank you very much all, question answered!

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Game 103955

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Originally posted by richjohnson
Game 103955
Ahh, I see. If you're 400 points above the opposition, it is playable.

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www.chesscafe.com/text/skittles249.pdf

“When I asked some of my chess friends what they know about Cochrane, I received the following
answers:
A player who liked to sacrifice the knight at f7.
He introduced the quickest sacrifice of the knight at f7!”

You might be interested in the above article.

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In the infamous Fried Liver Attack, white sac's a knight on f7. The debate about its soundness has raged for years. Most think it is justified because black's 5th move is weak.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Nxd5? 6. Nxf7?!

the sac

6...Kxf7 7. Qf3+ The point. Black must move his king into the center or give back the knight.

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Awesome posts! very helpful. True testament to how nice the community here at rhp is 🙂

You didn't have to take the time out of your day to look at my post, but you did, and I appreciate that very much.

Oh yeah, btw, great article masscat, exactly the kind of thing I've been looking for!

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Originally posted by LordofADown
This may seem like an odd question, but I was wondering, when is a bishop/knight worth taking the pawn on f7 (if ever)?

Assuming the exchange involves no other pieces than a bishop/knight taking the f7 pawn and an uncastled king taking the piece in response.
I know what you're talking about! No, if a player plays sound, he can turn the tables on you if you trade your bishop to poke a hole in his f7 square. It's not worth it. I've studied all the lines, and have found a way out of the storm.