Puzzle Academy Update: New Skills, New Challenges

Stay ahead in your chess journey with the latest Puzzle Academy update! This release introduces fresh levels and skills, providing new opportunities to master key tactical concepts and sharpen your game.

Let's dive into what's new.

Tactics: Unpinning, Level 2

In the "Tactics" course, there is a new level 2 in "Unpinning". Use your opponent's pin to your advantage by moving with the pinned piece. Level 2 includes three move puzzles, so you have to prepare or follow up on the unpinning move.

Black can move the knight out of the pin with the strong multi-purpose move 1...Nxe5!, attacking White's queen, rook, and knight at the same time. Black wins material, e.g. 2.dxe5 Qxc7, or 2.Rxe7 Nxf3+ 3.gxf3 Rxd6.

White can win with the fantastic 1.Nc8!!, threatening checkmate with Rxd8#. If 1...Rdxc8, then White can win the queen with the unpinning move 2.Bc5+ Rxc5 3.Qxe4.
And 1...Qxh1 does not help, for example 2.Bc5+ Ke8 3.Nd6+ Rxd6 4.exd6+ followed by Rxh1.

Combinations: Deflection from Skewer

In the "Combinations" course, there is a new skill "Deflection from Skewer". This is a combination where you deflect a piece away from defending a square where a skewer can be played.

White can play the knight fork 1.Nf6+! to deflect the queen from the back rank: 1...Qxf6 2.Rc8+ Kd7 3.Rxg8.

Checkmate Patterns: David and Goliath mate, level 4

In the "Checkmate Patterns" course, there is a new level 4 in "David and Goliath mate". Here is a beautiful example:

Black can weave a mating net with 1...Kf3!, and White cannot prevent David and Goliath mate with the clearance sacrifice Rh5, for example 2.Rc3+ Kf4 3.Rc1 Rh5+! 4.gxh5 g5# - very beautiful!

Checkmate Combinations: Clearance to guard escape square, level 2

We continue this skill from the previous update with level 2. You move one piece to guard an escape square with another piece.

Black can win with 1...Nf4+!, discovering a check by the queen, and guarding the escape square f1 with the bishop as well. Checkmate on the next move is forced, for example 2.Nxg5 Nxe2#.

Defence: Defend against double attacks

In the "Defence" course, there is a new skill "Defend against double attacks". A double attack is a tactical motif that creates two threats at the same time, including forks, discovered attacks, and discovered checks. Often, a double attack wins immediately, but sometimes a defense is possible.

White is forking the two black bishops with the queen. Black can defend both with 1...Qb7. You can think of this as a defensive queen fork; the queen protects two pieces at once.

Attacking: Attacking the castled king, level 4

In the "Attacking" course, there is a new level 4 for the "Attacking the castled king" skill. This level includes forced checkmates, but also attacks against the king that win material.

White's last move c3 was a mistake, and Black can win with an attack on the castled king: 1...Qh4! 2.h3 Bxf2+ 3.Kh1 and now 3...Qg3! forces checkmate, for example 4.hxg4 Qh4#.

Take Your Chess to the Next Level

Ready to push your tactical abilities further? Puzzle Academy offers the most in-depth and personalized chess training experience available. Tailored to your individual strengths and areas of improvement, our comprehensive courses are designed to help you systematically advance your skills. With these new levels and skills just added, there's never been a better time to upgrade to Premium.
Learn more about Puzzle Academy and how it can transform your game.

More Exciting Updates Are Coming Soon

The journey doesn't end here. We're hard at work on the next version of the ChessPuzzle.net algorithm, which will power even more advanced levels in Puzzle Academy. Stay tuned for these exciting developments, and make sure your voice is heard — your feedback is essential for creating the best experience for our community of chess enthusiasts. If you have any ideas or just want to get in touch, reach out to me.

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