«In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.» — Dwight D. Eisenhower
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Puzzle #89: Winning material

Rating ≈ 1000 · 1 move to find

Black to move and win material.

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

Go through every check and capture, then every threat.

Show the solution
  1. 12… bxc3 — the pawn takes the bishop on c3.

Why it works. Forcing moves leave the opponent no time to defend everything. At the end of the line Black is about 3 points of material better off.

Themes: 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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