«Chess is the gymnasium of the mind.» — Blaise Pascal
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Puzzle #95: 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. 20… Nxa4 — the knight takes the queen on a4.

Why it works. Forcing moves leave the opponent no time to defend everything. At the end of the line Black is about 9 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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