Zwischenzug – Featured Puzzles

These introductory puzzles along with their detailed explanations will help you get used to this pattern. You will then be able to train in the next parts on a number of puzzles with increasing difficulty.

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Detailed Solution
White could play 1.Rxe4, but then black would regain the material with 1… cxb5. Therefore white first plays 1.Bc4+, a zwischenzug that employs a check to relocate the white bishop to a safe square first, before capturing the black knight on e4.

Detailed Solution
White’s knight on b5 is under attack, but playing 1.Nd6 right away, would allow black’s rook on c8 to capture the white bishop on c3. White uses a zwischenzug, Bb4+, to remove the threat against their bishop first, before moving their knight to fork the black rooks.

Detailed Solution
White’s pawn on e5 could capture black’s queen but black would then capture white’s queen too, Rxe4. By playing a zwischenzug 1.Qxa8, white temporarily sacrifices material, but regains it on the next move, winning a rook in the process.

Detailed Solution
Black’s pawn on f3 is pinned to the queen by the white rook on f2. By playing the zwischenzug, 1… Qe5+, black moved their queen out of the pin and checks the white king at the same time. On the next move black can then play fxg2.

Detailed Solution
1.Rxa3? would allow black to simply play Qc1+, followed by Qxa3, regaining the lost material. That is why white first employs the zwischenzug, 1.Qd2+ (to prevent black’s idea of Qc1+) before capturing the black rook on the next move.

Detailed Solution
The solution teaches an important idea: If you can deal with a threat against you and, at the same time, make a strong counter-threat, this can potentially give you the time you needed to execute a pending tactical opportunity.

Detailed Solution
Black wants to fork the white queen and bishop, by pushing their e5-pawn to e4. However, white could escape the fork by playing Bc4+, followed by moving the queen to a safe square. That is why black plays 1… Bf7+ first, a zwischenzug to prevent Bc4+.

Detailed Solution
Note that 1.Rxh2? Ra1+ 2.Kc2 Ra2+, followed by Rxa2, is bad for white. Instead, white employs the zwischenzug, Rb5+. The point is that, from b5, the white rook can block black’s tactic.

Detailed Solution
Here’s the idea: If black can move their knight to a safe square and, at the same time, gain a tempo by making a strong threat (zwischenzug), it might give him the opportunity to win the white knight on the next move.

Detailed Solution
Instead of capturing the black rook on h5 right away, Qxh5, white can play the zwischenzug, Qe8+. This “in-between” check still allows white to capture black’s rook on the next move, again with check, and gets the undefended knight on c5 too.
Course: Zwischenzug