Deflection: queen to d6 (f8)
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The tactical motive
Deflection: force the defender to abandon its post.
Difficulty 1850 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
White 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 g1, queen f8, rook h8, pawn a2 b2 g2 h2 c3 g3 d4.
Black: king f6, queen g6, rook f7, pawn e2 b5 d5 g5 c6 h6 a7.
10 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 36.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 21 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 f6.
It is White to move on move 36, with 27 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): f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: e.
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
36. Qd6+ Kg7 37. Rg8+ Kxg8 38. Qxg6+
Why it works
- Great move! queen to d6 keeps the pressure (+5.4).
- Well found: rook to g8 (+5.4).
- Strong! queen to g6 is the sharp choice (+5.7).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Kg7, then Rg8+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 36. Qd6+ — queen to d6 with check
- Kg7 — king to g7
- 37. Rg8+ — rook to g8 with check
- Kxg8 — king to g8 (capture)
- 38. Qxg6+ — queen to g6 (capture) with check
Types in this puzzle
Royal fork
A fork with check: the king must move, and the second piece is lost.
A royal fork is a fork with check — one of the two targets is the king itself. The check must be answered first, so nobody is left to rescue the second piece. Look for squares where your piece gives check and simultaneously attacks an undefended queen or rook. It is the most reliable fork of all, because your opponent literally has no choice.
Mate defense
Mate is threatened — parry it and stay on top.
Mate defense: your opponent is one move from mating you — but it is your turn, and that changes everything. Find the defense that kills the mating threat while keeping your advantage: often a check or a counter-threat that leaves no time for the mate. First name the exact square where the mate would land — otherwise you are defending blind. The mistake is playing a "defensive" move that does not actually remove the threat.
Skewer
A line attack forces the valuable piece to move, exposing the one behind it.
A skewer is a pin turned inside out: the valuable piece stands in front and something cheaper hides behind it. The big piece must step aside, and you collect the one that was sheltering in its shadow. Scan for the enemy king or queen sharing a file, rank or diagonal with another enemy piece. The deadliest version comes with check — the king moves, the rook behind it dies.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 013
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