Hanging piece exercises

An undefended piece sitting inside the opponent's attack range. Play the winning move on the board below. Each position is verified: the solution is the strongest move, and the write-up tells you exactly what it wins. Read the full hanging piece guide first if the pattern is new to you.

Solved 0 of 6 · first-try accuracy 0%

1. Exercise 1: White to play: force mate.

   Position (FEN): n7/6P1/K4Nk1/8/1Q6/7B/8/8 w - - 0 1

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   White to play: force mate.

   easy · forced mate

   Hint 1Show solution
   Written solution

   g8=Q+ — g8=Q+ forces mate. Every black reply runs into the same net, so the game ends on the spot.

2. Exercise 2: White to play: win material.

   Position (FEN): 3Qn3/P1P5/8/8/8/7k/8/K7 w - - 0 1

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   White to play: win material.

   easy · wins ~16 pawns

   Hint 1Show solution
   Written solution

   c8=Q+ — c8=Q+ wins about 16 pawns of material by force: the pawn hits h3 and Black cannot cover everything. The next best try, Qxe8, leaves the position roughly level.

3. Exercise 3: White to play: win material.

   Position (FEN): 8/8/3NK3/2r3kn/8/4n3/8/8 w - - 0 1

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   White to play: win material.

   medium · wins ~5 pawns

   Hint 1Show solution
   Written solution

   Ne4+ — Ne4+ wins about 5 pawns of material by force: the knight hits g5, c5 and Black cannot cover everything. The next best try, Nb7, leaves the position roughly level.

4. Exercise 4: White to play: win material.

   Position (FEN): 8/8/8/1K6/8/1nr5/1N3k2/8 w - - 0 1

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   White to play: win material.

   medium · wins ~5 pawns

   Hint 1Show solution
   Written solution

   Nd1+ — Nd1+ wins about 5 pawns of material by force: the knight hits f2, c3 and Black cannot cover everything. The next best try, Ka6, leaves the position roughly level.

5. Exercise 5: White to play: win material.

   Position (FEN): 3n4/6KP/8/8/r1kn4/8/N7/8 w - - 0 1

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   White to play: win material.

   hard · wins ~5 pawns

   Hint 1Show solution
   Written solution

   h8=Q — h8=Q wins about 5 pawns of material by force: the pawn hits d8 and Black cannot cover everything. The next best try, h8=R, leaves the position roughly level.

6. Exercise 6: White to play: win material.

   Position (FEN): 8/2N1r3/6K1/2P2p2/8/2k5/8/8 w - - 0 1

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   White to play: win material.

   hard · wins ~4 pawns

   Hint 1Show solution
   Written solution

   Nd5+ — Nd5+ wins about 4 pawns of material by force: the knight hits e7, c3 and Black cannot cover everything. The next best try, Na8, leaves the position roughly level.