Discovered attack: bishop to c6 (e4)
li-0HKPNnaming 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 2115 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 c1, queen a4, rook d1 h1, bishop e4 h4, knight c3 f3, pawn a2 b2 c2 f2 g2 h2.
Black: king g8, queen c7, rook a8 f8, bishop g4 g7, knight c6 e7, pawn e5 g6 h6 a7 b7 f7.
14 white and 14 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 14.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 37 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on c1, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 14, with 49 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d — 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
14. Bxc6 Nxc6 15. Qxg4
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to c6 keeps the pressure (+3.0).
- Well found: queen to g4 (+3.3).
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead Nxc6, then Qxg4 and you win the bishop.
Move by move
- 14. Bxc6 — bishop to c6 (capture)
- Nxc6 — knight to c6 (capture)
- 15. Qxg4 — queen to g4 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Clearance
Clear your own piece out of the way — with tempo — for the decisive blow.
Clearance is about your own piece standing in the way of the decisive blow — so you move it aside, or even throw it away. The key is to clear with tempo: jump off with a check, a capture or a threat, giving the opponent no time to regroup. The telltale sign: you see a crushing queen or rook move, but one of your own pieces blocks the line or occupies the square. Do not cling to it — a clearance sacrifice usually costs less than a missed attack.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Pack 015
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