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Puzzle #6: Skewer

Rating ≈ 1550 · 2 moves to find

Black to move and win material.

Puzzle position: Black to move and win material.♜︎♛︎♜︎♟︎♞︎♚︎♞︎♟︎♟︎♝︎♟︎♝︎♟︎♟︎♟︎♟︎♟︎♝︎♟︎♛︎♟︎♟︎♟︎♞︎♟︎♝︎♞︎♜︎♜︎♚︎h1g2f3e4d5c6b7a8
Show a hint

Line up an attack on a valuable piece with another one standing behind it.

Show the solution
  1. 23… Bg5 — the bishop goes to g5.
  2. 24. Qe2 is the best defence.
  3. 24… Bxd2 — the bishop takes the knight on d2 attacking the rook on c1 and the rook on e1.

Why it works. The more valuable piece has to step aside and the one behind it is lost. At the end of the line Black is about 3 points of material better off.

Themes: Skewer, Fork, 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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