Daily Chess Puzzle #26: Boden's mate, Queen fork, Trapped piece and Discovered attack

Four puzzles, four patterns: the boden’s mate, the queen fork, the trapped piece and the discovered attack. Each position below comes from a real game in the open Lichess database and is engine-verified. Set the position up, give yourself the same few seconds the video does, and only then read the solution. Best for players rated about 1000 to 2700.

Puzzle 1: Boden’s mate (beginner, rated 1052)

White to play. Black just played queen takes on d4. It wins a pawn, or so it seems. The black king on c8 is short of squares. Can you find the checkmate?

Play it on Lichess before reading on: lichess.org/training/01z9G. It was rated 1052 in the Lichess database we took it from; ratings there shift a little as people solve it.

Solution

1. Qxc6+ — White: Queen takes on c6, check.
2. bxc6 — Black: Pawn takes on c6.
3. Ba6# — White: Bishop to a6, checkmate.

Queen takes on c6, check. We give up the queen for a pawn. Black has no choice. Pawn takes on c6. And now, bishop to a6, checkmate.

The pattern. Boden’s mate: two bishops on crossing diagonals, and the king’s own pieces block the rest. When a king has castled long and the diagonals open up, this is the picture to look for.

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Puzzle 2: Queen fork (intermediate, rated 1527)

Black to play. White has just played bishop takes on d4. It wins a pawn, or so it seems. Notice the white king on e1 and the white queen on d2, close together. The winning move gives up material. Can you see why it works?

Play it on Lichess before reading on: lichess.org/training/00WUu. It was rated 1527 in the Lichess database we took it from; ratings there shift a little as people solve it.

Solution

1. Qxd4 — Black: Queen takes on d4.
2. Qxd4 — White: Queen takes on d4.
3. Nc2+ — Black: Knight to c2, check.
4. Kf1 — White: King to f1.
5. Nxd4 — Black: Knight takes on d4.

Queen takes on d4. We give up the queen for a bishop. White takes. Queen takes on d4. Now, knight to c2, check. The knight attacks the king on e1 and the queen on d4 at the same time. The king must move. King to f1. Knight takes on d4. That wins the queen.

The pattern. A queen fork. If you were tempted by knight to c2, check, White answers queen takes on c2 and the chance is gone.

Puzzle 3: Trapped piece (advanced, rated 1944)

Black to play. White just played knight to g5. Take a moment to look at the whole board. One of White’s pieces has run out of squares. Can you find the move that wins it?

Play it on Lichess before reading on: lichess.org/training/00kSx. It was rated 1944 in the Lichess database we took it from; ratings there shift a little as people solve it.

Solution

1. Ne5 — Black: Knight to e5.
2. Qxh6 — White: Queen takes on h6.
3. Rxh6 — Black: Rook takes on h6.

Knight to e5. The knight attacks the queen on g6 and the bishop on d3 at the same time. White takes. Queen takes on h6. Now, rook takes on h6. That wins the queen.

The pattern. A trapped piece. It has nowhere safe to go, and it falls. If you were tempted by bishop takes on g5, White answers queen takes on g5 and the chance is gone.

Puzzle 4: Discovered attack (master, rated 2622)

White to play. Black has just played king to g8. Take a moment to look at the whole board. The first move is a check. Which piece gives it?

Play it on Lichess before reading on: lichess.org/training/0GMd4. It was rated 2622 in the Lichess database we took it from; ratings there shift a little as people solve it.

Solution

1. gxf7+ — White: Pawn takes on f7, check.
2. Kf8 — Black: King to f8.
3. Rxg7 — White: Rook takes on g7.
4. Qb6 — Black: Queen to b6.
5. Be5 — White: Bishop to e5.

Pawn takes on f7, check. That wins the rook. Black steps out of check. King to f8. Rook takes on g7. We give up the rook for a pawn. Black defends with queen to b6. Bishop to e5.

The pattern. We come out a rook and a pawn ahead. A discovered attack. One move creates two threats: the piece that moves attacks something, and the piece it uncovers attacks something else.

One puzzle at a time

Each puzzle is also a one-minute Short if you want to try one on the phone:

• Boden’s mate, in 2 moves
• Rated 1527: the queen fork
• Trapped piece that 1900s miss
• Find the discovered attack in 3 seconds

Sources and disclosure

Puzzles 01z9G, 00WUu, 00kSx, 0GMd4 from the Lichess open puzzle database (CC0). New puzzles every day on the RankUp Chess channel and on our videos page.