Trade-offs
Also called Give a little, get more, Sacrifice, Opportunity cost.
Material, time and position can be exchanged for one another. Give one up only for more of another.
A gambit gives a pawn for time. A sacrifice gives a piece for an attack. Both are good only if what you get is worth more than what you give, and you can show how.
What you give up is the cost, even when no money changes hands. Economists call it opportunity cost: the value of the best thing you could have done instead.
Why it matters
Most real decisions are not free wins but trades. Seeing all three currencies lets you trade well.
Away from the game
Spending money to save time, or time to build a better position later, is the same calculation.
New to chess? The examples here use it. Play your first moves (five minutes), then learn chess from the beginning, one short lesson at a time.
Try it yourself
Give one thing up only for more of another. Two captures are on offer; one wins material. Find it.
2 questions, a minute or two. Nothing to finish first.
Want more? Practise Size the risk.
Learn and practise it
- Lesson: Give a little, get more
- Skill: Size the risk