Win the hanging knight on g4
li-00pRNOpens in the app if installed, otherwise downloads the APK.
The tactical motive
Hanging piece: your opponent left a piece undefended — take it.
Difficulty 1337 ShuffleRating — club-player level.
White to move — find the best continuation
How to recognize this tactic
A hanging piece is one that is attacked and not defended, or defended too few times. Count attackers against defenders on each enemy unit; where attackers win, take it — often with an in-between move or a check to gain the extra tempo.
General method: before you move, list the forcing candidates — every check, every capture, every direct threat — and calculate those first. The solution to a tactic is almost always among them.
Position on the board
White: king g1, queen d3, rook a1 e1, bishop c2, knight e5, pawn a2 f2 g2 h2 b3 c3 d4.
Black: king g8, queen d6, rook a8 e8, bishop g4, knight g7, pawn d5 a6 c6 g6 b7 f7 h7.
13 white and 13 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 28.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 32 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on g1, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 28, with 44 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 7. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): e — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
The White king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
28. Nxg4 Rxe1+ 29. Rxe1
Why it works
- Great move! knight to g4 keeps the pressure (+5.0).
- Well found: rook to e1 (+5.0).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Rxe1+, then Rxe1 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 28. Nxg4 — knight to g4 (capture)
- Rxe1+ — rook to e1 (capture) with check
- 29. Rxe1 — rook to e1 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Discovered attack
A piece steps aside and opens a second attack from the piece behind it.
A discovered attack works like a curtain: one piece steps off the line and unveils the long-range piece behind it. The beauty is that the moving piece can create a second threat of its own — two attacks in one move. Look for your stacked pairs: a bishop or rook behind a knight or pawn, aimed through them at something valuable. Send the front piece to the most aggressive square — a discovery without a second threat wastes half its power.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 010
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads