Exercises — Advanced

Without its bishop, the fianchetto is just a g6 pawn in front of empty dark squares. Your h5 pawn can hit it, with your rook waiting behind. Don't be afraid to open lines — or to let something be taken.

• attaque-du-roque
• fianchetto
• colonne-h
• mat
• pion

Not started

3 moves

Your rook is already aimed at h8 — but two pawns block the file, one of them yours. Black's king has no free square. How do you make Black open the file for you?

• attaque-du-roque
• sacrifice
• colonne-h
• mat
• cavalier

Not started

2 moves

There's no black knight on f6 to guard h7 any more, and your e5 pawn stops one from coming back. If the black king gets dragged out of its shelter, which piece can check it straight away — and which one arrives on the h-file after that?

• attaque-du-roque
• sacrifice
• fou
• cavalier
• dame

Not started

3 moves

Black's king hasn't a single square: g8 and h7 are covered, and the g7 pawn can't step forward to make one. All that's missing is a piece on the h-file. Your rook can't get there directly… but it can take the long way round.

• attaque-du-roque
• tour
• mat

Not started

2 moves

No check works here — try them, they all fail. Look instead for a calm move that creates a threat nothing can stop. Which square does your f6 pawn already control?

• coup-tranquille
• mat
• dame
• pion

Not started

2 moves

You're lost: Black's queen and rook are aiming at g2, and you're well down on material. But Black's king doesn't have much air. If you can't win, can you stop it from ever catching its breath?

• defense
• echec-perpetuel
• dame

Not started

3 moves

The h-pawn looks uncatchable and your c6 pawn looks lost. But count diagonally: a king can chase two goals at once. Running after the h-pawn, it can also get closer to its own.

• defense
• finale
• regle-du-carre
• pion
• roi

Not started

1 move

Two black pieces defend everything: the rook guards g7 along the seventh rank, the bishop guards f8 on its diagonal. Their two lines cross on one square. What happens if you put a piece there?

• interception
• mat
• cavalier
• sacrifice

Not started

2 moves

Your king is stuck in front of its pawn. To step out it will need shelter from the side checks — and your rook will build it, by standing where it can block later. But first, push Black's king one more file away.

• lucena
• finale
• tour

Not started

2 moves

Every move has to be a check, or Black gets a breath. A knight that gives check while unmasking the queen is two checks at once. And a king surrounded by its own pieces has nowhere to go.

• mat
• echec-double
• etouffe
• sacrifice
• cavalier

Not started

3 moves

Push the pawn now and Black's king parks in front of it: draw. Your king has to lead the way, and to get past it needs the opposition. Kings can face each other diagonally, too.

• opposition
• finale
• pion
• roi

Not started

1 move

Black's king wants to climb onto your third rank and escort its pawn. While the pawn stays put, your rook bars that rank. The moment the pawn advances, the rook changes job: go as far away as it can and check from behind.

• philidor
• finale
• tour
• defense

Not started

2 moves

d8 looks well guarded: Black's rook sits there and Black's queen protects it. But your rook sees d8 too — straight through your queen. Count attackers and defenders, and remember the back rank.

• rayons-x
• mat
• couloir
• sacrifice
• dame

Not started

2 moves

There are two races to count. If your pawn runs now, can Black's king get inside its square? And is your king still inside the h-pawn's square? Careful: walking towards your own pawn can lose the race on the other wing.

• regle-du-carre
• finale
• pion

Not started

1 move

Queening looks obvious. But what would Black's queen do against your new one? A different piece, landing on e8, could hit two targets at once.

• sous-promotion
• fourchette
• finale
• cavalier
• pion

Not started

2 moves

If it were Black to move, Black would lose: the king would have to let go of e5, or let yours through. The trouble is, it's your move. Do you have a move that changes nothing — except whose turn it is?

• zugzwang
• finale
• pion

Not started

1 move