Win the hanging queen on d1 (e2)
li-0RzkGnaming 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 2233 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 g2, queen f2, rook d1 a8, pawn g3 b5 f5 c6.
Black: king g7, queen e2, rook c7, knight f6, pawn g4 c5 b6 f7.
8 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 44.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 2 points of material (23 against 21; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g2, the black king on g7.
It is Black to move on move 44, with 34 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, d, e, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
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
44... Qxd1 45. Qf4 Qf3+ 46. Qxf3 gxf3+
Why it works
- Great move! queen to d1 keeps the pressure (+3.2).
- Well found: queen to f3 (+3.6).
- Strong! pawn to f3 is the sharp choice (+3.5).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Qf4, then Qf3+ and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 44… Qxd1 — queen to d1 (capture)
- 45. Qf4 — queen to f4
- Qf3+ — queen to f3 with check
- 46. Qxf3 — queen to f3 (capture)
- gxf3+ — pawn to f3 (capture) with check
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.
Simplification
Trade the heavy pieces and steer into a won endgame.
Simplification is how you convert an advantage: by trading queens and rooks you extinguish the counterplay and steer the game into a won endgame. The rule is simple — the side with extra material trades pieces but keeps pawns. Look for exchanges once the material is already won and your opponent is still rattling threats. The mistake is avoiding the queen trade and letting him muddy the water forever.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Pack 015
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