Win the hanging king on h7 (g8·2)
li-0DOytnaming tag (square·N)Opens in the app if installed, otherwise downloads the APK.
The tactical motive
Hanging piece: your opponent left a piece undefended — take it.
Difficulty 2020 ShuffleRating — expert level — few solve it at first try.
Black to move — find the best continuation
How to recognize this tactic
A hanging piece is one that is attacked and not defended, or defended too few times. Count attackers against defenders on each enemy unit; where attackers win, take it — often with an in-between move or a check to gain the extra tempo.
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 d1, rook a1 f1, bishop c1 h7, knight f3, pawn a2 b2 f2 g2 h2.
Black: king g8, queen e7, rook a8 f8, bishop g4, knight c6 d6, pawn a7 b7 c7 f7 g7.
12 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 13.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 33 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 Black to move on move 13, with 2 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle. Black are in check right now, so every reply must answer the check.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: h.
White hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The Black king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
13... Kxh7 14. Ng5+ Qxg5 15. Bxg5 Bxd1
Why it works
- Great move! king to h7 keeps the pressure (+4.7).
- Well found: queen to g5 (+4.7).
- Strong! bishop to d1 is the sharp choice (+4.8).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Ng5+, then Qxg5 and you win the bishop.
Move by move
- 13… Kxh7 — king to h7 (capture)
- 14. Ng5+ — knight to g5 with check
- Qxg5 — queen to g5 (capture)
- 15. Bxg5 — bishop to g5 (capture)
- Bxd1 — bishop to d1 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Winning blow
Find the strike that wins material by force.
A winning blow is a forced material gain that does not fit a single textbook motif. The general tactical recipe applies: spot loose pieces, an awkwardly placed king, overloaded lines. Go through the forcing moves in order of violence — checks, captures, threats — because most combinations start with one of them. Do not judge by feel: calculate the concrete line until the outcome is beyond doubt.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Pack 014
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