Discovered attack: rook to b8
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The tactical motive
Discovered attack: one piece steps aside, unleashing another's attack.
Difficulty 1997 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
White to move — find the best continuation
How to recognize this tactic
A discovered attack fires when one piece steps aside and unmasks the piece behind it. Look for your own units that block a rook, bishop or queen: moving the front piece — ideally with a threat of its own — springs two attacks in one move.
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 h2, queen d2, rook b1 f1, bishop g2 d4, knight e2, pawn g3 h3 e4.
Black: king g8, queen c4, rook b8 f8, bishop e5 d7, knight g7, pawn d6 g6 f7 h7.
10 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 23.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 1 points of material (31 against 32; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on h2, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 23, with 55 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, b, c — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: d, f.
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
23. Rxb8 Rxb8 24. Bxe5 dxe5 25. Qxd7
Why it works
- Brilliant! The rook on b8 is a sacrifice that works — you stand better (+2.8).
- A brilliant blow: bishop to e5, and you stand better (+3.0).
- Strong! queen to d7 is the sharp choice (+3.1).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Rxb8, then Bxe5 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 23. Rxb8 — rook to b8 (capture)
- Rxb8 — rook to b8 (capture)
- 24. Bxe5 — bishop to e5 (capture)
- dxe5 — pawn to e5 (capture)
- 25. Qxd7 — queen to d7 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Clearance
Clear your own piece out of the way — with tempo — for the decisive blow.
Clearance is about your own piece standing in the way of the decisive blow — so you move it aside, or even throw it away. The key is to clear with tempo: jump off with a check, a capture or a threat, giving the opponent no time to regroup. The telltale sign: you see a crushing queen or rook move, but one of your own pieces blocks the line or occupies the square. Do not cling to it — a clearance sacrifice usually costs less than a missed attack.
Trapped piece
The attacked piece has no safe square — it is caught.
Trapping a piece means the attacked piece has no safe square left — it simply perishes. Do not chase it around; build a cage instead: cut off the escape squares with pawns and pieces first, and attack last. The typical victim has wandered deep into your camp or is stuck at the edge of the board, where its mobility is tiny. And always check the way home for your own raiders — or the trapped piece will be yours.
X-ray
A long-range piece acts through an enemy piece on the same line.
An X-ray lets a long-range piece act through an enemy piece standing on the same line — its power shines straight through. The square behind looks safe or defended, and that illusion is exactly what the tactic exploits. Check your rooks, bishops and queens: is a key square or a target hiding behind an enemy piece on their line? When counting captures on a square, include the X-ray attackers — they join the fight the moment the line opens.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 014
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