What is an attraction sacrifice that forces the enemy general onto a losing square?
These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws and is regression-tested against the official 110-diagram repetition casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it against the engine before publishing.
Direct answer
An attraction sacrifice offers material for the specific purpose of forcing the enemy general itself onto a square where a follow-up move becomes decisive, most often a mating net or a fork that could not otherwise reach it. It differs from a decoy, which lures a defending piece away rather than the general.
Why it targets the general specifically
The general cannot simply decline a forcing check the way a defending piece can sometimes ignore a threat, which makes it a uniquely reliable target for this kind of sacrifice: if the sacrifice creates a check, the general genuinely has no choice but to move where you are pushing it, as long as you have calculated that every alternative square is also covered or worse.
What has to be true for it to actually work
Every square the general could move to instead needs to be accounted for, either covered by your pieces or leading to an even worse outcome for the defender, or the sacrifice simply loses material for nothing. This is why attraction sacrifices demand more precise calculation than most other tactics: the whole point depends on the general having no real alternative.
Related questions
Is this the same as a decoy?
No, a decoy lures a defending piece away from a square or duty; an attraction sacrifice forces the general itself onto a specific square.
Are these sacrifices common at club level?
Less common than simpler tactics, since they require calculating every one of the general's alternatives accurately before committing.
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