I came across this unusual tactic whilst working through VISUALWIZE exercises and I thought this one is worth sharing!
In the position below it is white to move. Note that black’s king is threatening to capture your rook. Can you see a tactic for white?
Diagram above: White to move. What would you do?
Scroll down to see the solution.
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Solution
Diagram above: 1.Ra8! threatens Rxa6, but also keeps the threat of Bxd5+. The black bishop on d5 is pinned and black cannot deal with all the threats: 1.Ra8! Rxa8 2.Bxd5+ followed by Bxa8.
Now let me ask you: How long did it take before you considered the move Ra8 in this position? Did you even consider it at all? I ask this because if you followed the 5-step calculation method (as presented on Day 1 of the 10-Day Chess Challenge), then you probably would have realized that 1.Ra8 is a move that should be considered.
This example proves again how important it is to work on your calculation skill and study tactics if you want to become a strong chess player. It is almost impossible to find such tactics in your own games if you have not seen and trained these tactical motifs beforehand.
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