Deflection puzzles
You force a defender away from its job, then take advantage of the square or piece it left.
About deflection puzzles
You force a defender away from its job, then take advantage of the square or piece it left. Deflection often decides positions that look balanced.
How to spot it
- Find the piece guarding something important: a king flight square, a back rank or a defended piece.
- Ask how to force it away with a capture, a check or an attack.
- After the deflection, the target should be free to take or the square free to use.
A common mistake
Deflecting a piece that is not actually doing the defending.
A worked example
B
K
R
KBlack to move. White has just played Rd5. Find the best move.
Solution: 46... b5+ 47. Kxb5 Kxd5
b5+ checks the king, so your opponent has to answer the check. The idea: You force a defender away from its job, then take advantage of the square or piece it left.
The highlighted squares show White's last move. This position is a different puzzle from the ones you start with above (1196 rating).
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Questions
Is deflection the same as overloading?
They are close. Deflection pulls a defender away by force. Overloading is when one defender has too many jobs and cannot do them all.
Where do these puzzles come from?
They are real puzzles from the Lichess puzzle database, which is free to use under the CC0 license. Each one was built from a real game and tested by many players. We picked well-rated ones with good popularity scores.
Are the puzzles free?
Yes. There is no signup, no limit and no ads on the puzzles. Your progress on this page is not saved after you leave.
What do the difficulty levels mean?
Beginner puzzles are rated under 1250, intermediate 1250 to 1749 and advanced 1750 and up, using the rating Lichess players earned on each puzzle.