The in-between move
Slip in a check or a big capture before the move everyone expects.
The idea
Before the move everyone expects, slip in a check or a big capture.
- The pawn could take the rook right away.
- But first the knight takes the queen, with check.
- Black has to answer the check, and then the pawn takes the rook.
In a game: Before the obvious move, such as taking back, look for a check or a bigger capture.
How the lesson begins
An intermezzo is an in-between move. Before you play the move everyone expects, you slip in a forcing move, such as a check or the capture of a big piece. The expected move is often still there afterwards, so you gain something extra first.
Here White can take the rook on g4 with the pawn. But the knight on d5 attacks Black’s queen, and White can take her first, with check. Watch.
- 27. Nxf6+ gxf6 28. hxg4
Find the move
Black to move. Your rook can take the bishop on d8, and your knight attacks the white queen. Find the best move.
A hint
Take the queen first, with check.
Show the answer
1... Nxf3+ 2. gxf3 Rxd8
Nxf3+ takes the queen with check. White’s best reply is to take the knight with the g-pawn, and then Black takes the bishop on d8 as well. Taking the bishop at once would give White time to move the queen away.
In numbers
In the puzzle bank
759 puzzles in GreyChess’s bank practise it. Half of them are rated between 1,348 and 2,364.
The piece that makes the first move of the answer: queen 25%, rook 24%, bishop 22%, knight 18%, pawn 10%, king 1%, in puzzles from the Lichess puzzle database.