Deflection: bishop to c4
li-06W48Opens in the app if installed, otherwise downloads the APK.
The tactical motive
Deflection: force the defender to abandon its post.
Difficulty 1490 ShuffleRating — club-player level.
Black to move — find the best continuation
How to recognize this tactic
Deflection drags a defender away from its duty. Identify the enemy piece that guards a key square or mate, then force it to move — with a check, a capture or a threat it must answer — and strike where it no longer defends.
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 e2, rook f1, bishop f5, pawn b2 a3 e3 f3 g4.
Black: king f7, rook h4, bishop b3, pawn a4 c6 f6 b7.
8 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 34.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (13 against 12; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on e2, the black king on f7.
It is Black to move on move 34, with 22 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: e, g.
The Black king has 5 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
34... Bc4+ 35. Bd3 Rh2+ 36. Ke1 Bxd3
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to c4 keeps the pressure (+4.8).
- Well found: rook to h2 (+4.7).
- Strong! bishop to d3 is the sharp choice (+4.9).
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead Bd3, then Rh2+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 34… Bc4+ — bishop to c4 with check
- 35. Bd3 — bishop to d3
- Rh2+ — rook to h2 with check
- 36. Ke1 — king to e1
- Bxd3 — bishop to d3 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Absolute pin
A piece is pinned against its king — it cannot legally move.
An absolute pin freezes a piece on the line between its own king and your long-range attacker: moving it is simply illegal. The pattern is three units on one straight line — your bishop, rook or queen, an enemy piece, and the enemy king behind it. A pinned piece neither attacks nor defends anything: treat it as if it were off the board. Pile up on it, ideally with a pawn, because running away is against the rules.
Endgame tactic
Tactics live in the endgame too — strike while material is scarce.
Tactics do not retire when the queens come off: forks, pins and double attacks live on in the endgame. With so little material left, every tactical loss is almost always decisive. The signs are the usual ones — undefended pieces, king and piece on one line, a pawn about to promote. Even in a "technical" ending, scan for a shot before every move, both yours and your opponent's.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 011
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