«Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.» — Sun Tzu
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Puzzle #56: Discovered attack

Rating ≈ 1000 · 1 move to find

White to move and win material.

Puzzle position: White to move and win material.♜︎♛︎♜︎♚︎♟︎♟︎♟︎♞︎♟︎♝︎♟︎♟︎♝︎♟︎♟︎♟︎♟︎♟︎♛︎♟︎♟︎♝︎♟︎♟︎♜︎♜︎♚︎a8b7c6d5e4f3g2h1
Show a hint

Moving one piece can open a line for another.

Show the solution
  1. 17. axb6 — the pawn takes the knight on b6.

Why it works. Moving one piece uncovers an attack from another, creating two threats in a single move. At the end of the line White is about 3 points of material better off.

Themes: Discovered attack, Winning material

Want to recognise this pattern faster? Read the guide.

This position comes from a training game and was checked with a chess engine: every move you need to find is the only one that works.

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