How a desperado works
If a piece cannot be saved, the question is what it can take with it. A doomed piece that captures a pawn, or better a piece, before it is taken reduces the loss or cancels it altogether. Moving it to a safe-looking square, or leaving it where it stands, gains nothing.
Typical desperado situations
A trapped piece is the simplest case. A bishop that takes a pawn on a7 or h7 and is shut in by ...b6 or ...g6 is a well-known example: if it cannot escape, it should at least capture on its way out.
Mutual attacks in an exchange are the other common case. When both sides have a piece en prise, the side to move can capture with its own attacked piece rather than recapturing in the expected order. The same idea appears in the endgame, where a rook may keep offering itself with checks because taking it would leave its owner stalemated.
Calculating with desperados
When you work out an exchange, check whether any piece about to be lost, yours or your opponent's, can capture something first. Assume your opponent's doomed pieces will do as much damage as they can, and count the exchange only after they have done it.
Common mistakes
- Letting a trapped piece be captured without first taking whatever it can.
- Calculating an exchange as if both sides recapture in order, and missing a desperado capture in between.
Questions about desperado
What does desperado mean in chess?
A piece that is going to be lost anyway and sells itself as dearly as possible, usually by capturing material before it is taken.
Is a desperado the same as a sacrifice?
Not really. A sacrifice gives up material by choice. A desperado piece is already lost, and its move is about limiting the damage.