Discovered attack: bishop to d5 (f3·2)
li-09MBunaming tag (square·N)Opens in the app if installed, otherwise downloads the APK.
The tactical motive
Discovered attack: one piece steps aside, unleashing another's attack.
Difficulty 2024 ShuffleRating — expert level — few solve it at first try.
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 g1, queen d4, rook d1 f1, bishop f3, knight c3, pawn a2 g2 h2 b3 e5.
Black: king g8, queen b6, rook f4 e8, bishop g6, knight c5, pawn d5 c6 a7 g7 h7.
11 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 23.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 30 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 23, with 40 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: c, d.
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. Bxd5+ cxd5 24. Rxf4 Ne6 25. Qxb6
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to d5 keeps the pressure (+3.5).
- Well found: rook to f4 (+3.7).
- Strong! queen to b6 is the sharp choice (+3.8).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead cxd5, then Rxf4 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 23. Bxd5+ — bishop to d5 (capture) with check
- cxd5 — pawn to d5 (capture)
- 24. Rxf4 — rook to f4 (capture)
- Ne6 — knight to e6
- 25. Qxb6 — queen to b6 (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 014
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