Deflection: knight to f5
li-0KexSOpens in the app if installed, otherwise downloads the APK.
The tactical motive
Deflection: force the defender to abandon its post.
Difficulty 2306 ShuffleRating — expert level — few solve it at first try.
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 e4, bishop h6, knight e7, pawn c3 b4.
Black: king d6, knight d5 e5, pawn b5 a6 f7.
5 white and 6 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 43.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 1 points of material (8 against 9; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on e4, the black king on d6.
It is White to move on move 43, with 16 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 2 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, e, g, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, f.
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
43. Nf5+ Ke6 44. Nd4+ Kf6 45. Kxd5
Why it works
- Great move! knight to f5 keeps the pressure (+3.8).
- Well found: knight to d4 (+3.9).
- Strong! king to d5 is the sharp choice (+3.8).
- You win a piece — the knight.
- If instead Ke6, then Nd4+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 43. Nf5+ — knight to f5 with check
- Ke6 — king to e6
- 44. Nd4+ — knight to d4 with check
- Kf6 — king to f6
- 45. Kxd5 — king to d5 (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.
Minor-piece endgame
Bishops and knights duel — geometry decides.
A minor-piece endgame leaves only bishops and knights with pawns, and geometry decides. The bishop loves an open board and play on both wings; the knight loves fixed pawns and outpost squares. Check which color squares the pawns stand on and where the knight can actually reach in time. Practical tip: against a knight, spread the play across both flanks — short legs cannot cover everything.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Pack 015
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads