Exposing the King
This is always a good plan to have, provided you have a means of carrying it out. An exposed king can easily get checkmated, while one well shielded is harder to get at.
Consider this famous example. (White: Edward Lasker; Black: Sir George Thomas; London Chess Club, 1912.)
White to play. Notice before we begin the final assault that White controls the center and has four pieces in play pointed at the Black king. Winning combinations do not spring out of random positions.
1. Qxh7+!! Kxh7.
The king comes out into the open. Of course, he has no choice in the matter.
2. Nxf6+ Kh6.
Or 2…. Kh8 3. Ng6 mate. White continues to play forcing moves, keeping the Black king in check. While flying from each check, Black never has time to protect his king or win the game with his extra queen.
3. Neg4+ Kg5 4. h4+ Kf4 5. g3+ Kf3 6. Be2+ Kg2 7. Rh2+ Kg1 8. Kd2 mate!
The Black king has taken a strange journey to meet his demise.
The chess world is filled with combinations in which one player sacrifices his pieces in order to bring the opponent's king out into the open, where he will be vulnerable to an early checkmate. Those that work are often very beautiful and make the archives. Those that fall short serve as warnings that such attacks need to be accurately calculated.
