Puzzle #96: Winning material
Rating ≈ 1850 · 3 moves to find
White to move and win material.
Show a hint
Go through every check and capture, then every threat.
Show the solution
- 15. e5 — the pawn goes to e5.
- 15… Bxf3 is the best defence.
- 16. exf6 — the pawn takes the knight on f6.
- 16… Qb4 is the best defence.
- 17. gxf3 — the pawn takes the bishop on f3.
Why it works. Forcing moves leave the opponent no time to defend everything. At the end of the line White is about 3 points of material better off.
Themes: Winning material
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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.