Daily Chess Puzzle #9: Pillsbury's mate, Pin, Skewer and Queen fork

Four puzzles, four patterns: the pillsbury’s mate, the pin, the skewer and the queen fork. 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 five seconds the video does, and only then read the solution. Best for players rated about 900 to 2800.

Puzzle 1: Pillsbury’s mate (beginner, rated 936)

White to play. Black just played rook takes on e5. It wins a pawn, or so it seems. Can you find the checkmate?

Play it on Lichess before reading on: lichess.org/training/01Md6. It was rated 936 in the Lichess database we took it from; ratings there shift a little as people solve it.

Solution

1. Rc8+ — White: Rook to c8, check.
2. Re8 — Black: Rook to e8.
3. Rxe8# — White: Rook takes on e8, checkmate.

Rook to c8, check. The king cannot go to h7, because our bishop on e4 controls that square. Black has no choice. Rook to e8. And now, rook takes on e8, checkmate.

The pattern. Pillsbury’s mate: a rook on the open g-file and a bishop on the long diagonal aim at the castled king together. Open the file, and the bishop does the rest. If you were tempted by rook takes on e3, Black answers pawn to f5 and the chance is gone.

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Puzzle 2: Pin (intermediate, rated 1525)

White to play. Black just played knight takes on f4. It wins a bishop, or so it seems. Notice the black king on g8 and the black queen on d8, close together. One piece cannot move without exposing another. Can you see which?

Play it on Lichess before reading on: lichess.org/training/00F5G. It was rated 1525 in the Lichess database we took it from; ratings there shift a little as people solve it.

Solution

1. Nh6+ — White: Knight to h6, check.
2. Kh8 — Black: King to h8.
3. Nxf7+ — White: Knight takes on f7, check.

Knight to h6, check. We offer the knight. So Black has just one move: king to h8. Knight takes on f7, check. The knight attacks the king on h8 and the queen on d8 at the same time.

The pattern. A pin. The pinned piece cannot move without exposing something more valuable behind it, so it is really out of the game. Pin first, then pile on the pinned piece. If you were tempted by queen takes on f4, Black answers queen to b6 and the chance is gone.

Puzzle 3: Skewer (advanced, rated 2148)

White to play. Black has just played king to g7. Notice how close our bishop on e8 and our rook on h5 are to the black king on g7. And the black bishop on b7 has nothing defending it. Two pieces on one line, the bigger one in front. Can you see the move?

Play it on Lichess before reading on: lichess.org/training/00z9K. It was rated 2148 in the Lichess database we took it from; ratings there shift a little as people solve it.

Solution

1. Rxh7+ — White: Rook takes on h7, check.
2. Kf8 — Black: King to f8.
3. Rxb7 — White: Rook takes on b7.

Rook takes on h7, check. We give up the rook for a pawn. Black has to move the king. King to f8. And now, rook takes on b7. That wins the bishop.

The pattern. We come out a piece and a pawn ahead. A skewer. The more valuable piece is attacked first, and when it moves away, the piece behind it is taken. It is a pin turned back to front: look for two enemy pieces on one line with the bigger one in front.

Puzzle 4: Queen fork (master, rated 2730)

White to play. Black just played king to g7. And the black rook on a1 has nothing defending it. Can you see the square that attacks two pieces at the same time?

Play it on Lichess before reading on: lichess.org/training/02Q6Q. It was rated 2730 in the Lichess database we took it from; ratings there shift a little as people solve it.

Solution

1. Qb2+ — White: Queen to b2, check.
2. Qf6 — Black: Queen to f6.
3. b8=Q — White: Pawn to b8, promoting to a queen.
4. Bxb8 — Black: Bishop takes on b8.
5. Qxb8 — White: Queen takes on b8.

Queen to b2, check. The queen attacks the king on g7 and the rook on a1 at the same time. Black defends with queen to f6. Now, pawn to b8, promoting to a queen. Black accepts. Bishop takes on b8. Queen takes on b8. That wins the bishop.

The pattern. We come out two pawns ahead. A queen fork. The queen attacks two undefended targets at once, often with check, and only one of them can be saved. Loose pieces are what make it possible: count the undefended pieces before you look for the move.

One puzzle at a time

Each puzzle is also a 60-second Short if you want to try one on the phone:

• Pillsbury’s mate that 900s miss
• Pin that 1500s miss
• Skewer that 2100s miss
• Queen fork that 2700s miss

Sources and disclosure

Puzzles 01Md6, 00F5G, 00z9K, 02Q6Q from the Lichess open puzzle database (CC0). New puzzles every day on the RankUp Chess channel and on our videos page.