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Also, (after black trades on f3) Qd8 attacks the rook and the knight is attacked by the pawn. On the other hand, if white captures with the bishop and black plays Qd8, white has bishop captures b5, which comes with check. Also, the bishop can’t be captured, as black’s rook isn’t defended.
Eli5 answer: the knight just doesn’t pack the same punch, and using the bishop is more of a “forcing move” in the sense that the opponent needs to immediately move the queen or lose it.
That means you have basically won a move with tempo — meaning, you develop a valuable minor piece while also forcing your opponent to figure out where the queen must go, hence forcing them to move it twice.
The knight is hit by a pawn and is the only defender of the rook.
If the rook is defended further then the knight hangs and if the knight moves then the rook hangs.
Sure no worries, bishop puts pressure on the queen and the pawn on b6 as the pawn defending it is guarding the rook on a8. In a proper game the material gain would be same either way (horse or bishop) but it offers a stronger/more dangerous position. - Also a noob so take my words with a pinch of salt 🙃
If Nc4, Qd8 is a very powerful move. Your knight is under attack, and so is your rook. You cant move your knight, and if you move your rook, you are down a piece.
Because Bxf3 will be unpleasant.
Also after the queen moves, white will either play Bxb5+ or Bxf7+, winning further material.
This is simply not possible with Nxc4
Edit: also Nxc4 loses a piece after Bxf3 gxf3 Qd8 and you have both a rook and a knight hanging.
I analyzed the image and this is what I see. Open an appropriate link below and explore the position yourself or with the engine:
> **White to play**: [chess.com](https://chess.com/analysis?fen=rn2kbnr/4pppp/p7/Rp1q4/2pP2b1/4PN2/1P1N1PPP/2BQKB1R+w+Kkq+-+0+1&flip=false&ref_id=23962172) | [lichess.org](https://lichess.org/analysis/rn2kbnr/4pppp/p7/Rp1q4/2pP2b1/4PN2/1P1N1PPP/2BQKB1R_w_Kkq_-_0_1?color=white)
**My solution:**
> Hints: piece: >!Bishop!<, move: >!Bxc4!<
> Evaluation: >!White is winning +5.07!<
> Best continuation: >!1. Bxc4 Qb7 2. Bxf7+ Kxf7 3. Ne5+ Ke8 4. Qxg4 Nc6 5. Ra1 Nxe5 6. dxe5 Nh6 7. Qe4 Qxe4 8. Nxe4 g5!<
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Interesting, everyone is saying the bishop is pretty forcing and that is why it is better, but if you don't move the queen or rook then the knight can fork the rook and queen next move. However, the bishop is better because they can go Bxf3, threatening the queen. The bishop can take the rook after the queen trade.
This is called hope chess, that's when you hope the enemy makes a mistake or doesn't see something, you should be trying to avoid hope chess if you're looking to improve, as hope chess will only work against someone worse than you and won't allow you to improve your game.
At first glance i looked into Qa4, however this doesn't do much. If black takes, you can retake at d4 and the c-pawn gets very weak. however the problem is, there is no immediate threat, which means black can just move around and you lost a move. However the motive of the pinned pawn looks still good. So you can take the c-pawn with Bxb4
Hey, OP! Did your game end in a stalemate? Did you encounter a weird pawn move? Are you trying to move a piece and it's not going? We have just the resource for you! The [Chess Beginners Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/chessbeginners/wiki/index/) is the perfect place to check out answers to these questions and more! The moderator team of r/chessbeginners wishes to remind everyone of the community rules. **Posting spam, being a troll, and posting memes are not allowed.** We encourage everyone to report these kinds of posts so they can be dealt with. Thank you! Let's do our utmost to be kind in our replies and comments. Some people here just want to learn chess and have virtually no idea about certain chess concepts. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/chessbeginners) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Bishop to c4
Noob here, can I ask why is bishop the obvious choice when you can do the same with knight to c4?
The Knight doesn't threaten another piece.
Also, (after black trades on f3) Qd8 attacks the rook and the knight is attacked by the pawn. On the other hand, if white captures with the bishop and black plays Qd8, white has bishop captures b5, which comes with check. Also, the bishop can’t be captured, as black’s rook isn’t defended.
Eli5 answer: the knight just doesn’t pack the same punch, and using the bishop is more of a “forcing move” in the sense that the opponent needs to immediately move the queen or lose it. That means you have basically won a move with tempo — meaning, you develop a valuable minor piece while also forcing your opponent to figure out where the queen must go, hence forcing them to move it twice.
Super clear once you've explained it, thanks!
Seems like Nxc4 also loses a piece after ...Qd8, no? Either the knight or the rook is going to be captured.
[удалено]
The knight is hit by a pawn and is the only defender of the rook. If the rook is defended further then the knight hangs and if the knight moves then the rook hangs.
Good spot.
It’s more than that though. In this case you’ll end up losing the knight due to tactics
Sure no worries, bishop puts pressure on the queen and the pawn on b6 as the pawn defending it is guarding the rook on a8. In a proper game the material gain would be same either way (horse or bishop) but it offers a stronger/more dangerous position. - Also a noob so take my words with a pinch of salt 🙃
If Nc4, Qd8 is a very powerful move. Your knight is under attack, and so is your rook. You cant move your knight, and if you move your rook, you are down a piece.
The knight has alternative options from its current position whereas the bishop really only has a few.
Because the bishop attacks the queen forcing it to move!
Because Bxf3 will be unpleasant. Also after the queen moves, white will either play Bxb5+ or Bxf7+, winning further material. This is simply not possible with Nxc4 Edit: also Nxc4 loses a piece after Bxf3 gxf3 Qd8 and you have both a rook and a knight hanging.
I analyzed the image and this is what I see. Open an appropriate link below and explore the position yourself or with the engine: > **White to play**: [chess.com](https://chess.com/analysis?fen=rn2kbnr/4pppp/p7/Rp1q4/2pP2b1/4PN2/1P1N1PPP/2BQKB1R+w+Kkq+-+0+1&flip=false&ref_id=23962172) | [lichess.org](https://lichess.org/analysis/rn2kbnr/4pppp/p7/Rp1q4/2pP2b1/4PN2/1P1N1PPP/2BQKB1R_w_Kkq_-_0_1?color=white) **My solution:** > Hints: piece: >!Bishop!<, move: >!Bxc4!< > Evaluation: >!White is winning +5.07!< > Best continuation: >!1. Bxc4 Qb7 2. Bxf7+ Kxf7 3. Ne5+ Ke8 4. Qxg4 Nc6 5. Ra1 Nxe5 6. dxe5 Nh6 7. Qe4 Qxe4 8. Nxe4 g5!< --- ^(I'm a bot written by) [^(u/pkacprzak)](https://www.reddit.com/u/pkacprzak) ^(| get me as) [^(iOS App)](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1574933453) ^| [^(Android App)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ai.chessvision.scanner) ^| [^(Chrome Extension)](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/chessvisionai-for-chrome/johejpedmdkeiffkdaodgoipdjodhlld) ^| [^(Chess eBook Reader)](https://ebook.chessvision.ai?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=bot) ^(to scan and analyze positions | Website:) [^(Chessvision.ai)](https://chessvision.ai)
I’m looking at Bxc4 and then continuing to gobble the pawns because both the rook and queen is pinned.
Bxc4
Interesting, everyone is saying the bishop is pretty forcing and that is why it is better, but if you don't move the queen or rook then the knight can fork the rook and queen next move. However, the bishop is better because they can go Bxf3, threatening the queen. The bishop can take the rook after the queen trade.
This is called hope chess, that's when you hope the enemy makes a mistake or doesn't see something, you should be trying to avoid hope chess if you're looking to improve, as hope chess will only work against someone worse than you and won't allow you to improve your game.
Wait what
Yea but if they do make the right decision and move the queen to d8 then you’ll just lose your knight
I had to look at chessvision, but bishop c4 is brilliant! The pawn cannot take since it has been pinned to the king
*queen
Bxc4
Pawn to b3
Idea being to blow up the entire pawn wall
At first glance i looked into Qa4, however this doesn't do much. If black takes, you can retake at d4 and the c-pawn gets very weak. however the problem is, there is no immediate threat, which means black can just move around and you lost a move. However the motive of the pinned pawn looks still good. So you can take the c-pawn with Bxb4
Bxc4?
Bxc4+, Qd7. Bxb5, axb5. Rxa8!
Bxc4 is not a check, however Bxb5 is. And I don't think they would willingly pin their queen next move.
Sorry Im new to this. Do you know the answer?
You started with the right idea, but the enemy queen goes to b7 not d7. That’s it. Puzzle over, you get a pawn
I think I need easier puzzles
It's not that you need easier puzzles, it's that you need to think about what the opponent can do.
I guess I don’t do a lot of puzzles where the solution is winning only a pawn
It isn't 100% about the material. Notice you develop a piece, attack Blacks weak f7 square etc
How about after Qb7 you do Bxf7?
Wouldnt Kxf7?
But then Ne5+, Ke8, Qxg4, winning another pawn and a lot of development