Skewer: bishop to a4 (d7)
li-066PInaming tag (square·N)The tactical motive
Skewer: a valuable piece is forced to move, exposing the one behind it.
Difficulty 1436 ShuffleRating — club-player level.
Black to move — find the best continuation
Position on the board
White: king g1, queen b3, rook a1 d1, bishop g2, knight e4, pawn a2 b2 e2 f2 h2 g3.
Black: king g8, queen a5, rook c8 f8, bishop f6 d7, pawn b4 e6 a7 f7 g7 h7.
12 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 19.
Solution & explanation
Main line
19... Ba4 20. Nxf6+ gxf6 21. Qf3 Bxd1
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to a4 keeps the pressure (+3.1).
- Well found: pawn to f6 (+3.5).
- Strong! bishop to d1 is the sharp choice (+3.8).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Nxf6+, then gxf6 and you stay on top.
Types in this puzzle
Quiet move
No check, no capture — yet this modest move decides the game.
A quiet move gives no check and takes nothing — yet it decides the game by creating an unstoppable threat or stealing the king's last square. This is the hardest class of moves: the eye hunts for loud blows while a modest shift does the winning. The clue: every forcing try runs into a defense, so seek the move that strengthens the threat or takes squares away. Train yourself to ask: what if I neither capture nor check, but quietly improve?
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 011
Similar puzzles
Free, no ads · Android 8.0+ · coming soon to Google Play