Chess School Quiz Challenge #11

Challenge

Black threatens to capture the knight on d4. Where should the knight move? Eight moves are possible, one is good, the other seven are less good or even very bad.

Solution

“Talk to your pieces,” is the advice that US grandmaster and author Yasser Seirawan gives to chess students. “Ask them where their favorite squares are.”

If we ask the knight d4 about its dream square, we get a clear answer. The knight dreams of the outpost d5. Anchored in the center on d5, it would be a dominant piece, unassailable by opponent's pawns.

Now we just need a way to d5. The path leads over c2 and e3 or over c2 and b4. Either way, one thing is clear: the knight moves to c2 with the plan of continuing towards the outpost d5. Nd4-c2 is the best move, the move that Sarah Papp chose in this game from the 2023 German Masters. 

If you object that after 1.Nd4-c2 White's b2-pawn is hanging, you are right. But 1...Nc4xb2 doesn't work tactically. White plays 2.Qd1-e2!. There are threats of pins on the b-file, and the b2-knight would be trapped in the white camp and lost.