attack · recognise → explain → apply

Promote with check to preserve the initiative

A pawn can promote while forcing a response from the enemy king.

Explanation styleChoose any style. Age is not playing strength; no birth date is needed.

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Choose an example

Alexander Alekhine – Frank Marshall

Baden-Baden · 1925.??.?? · 1-0

29... Qf7 · White to move

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What to notice at 29... Qf7

Alekhine’s recorded final move was 30.e8=Q+. The score ends after this checking promotion; it should not be displayed as a recorded checkmate.

A legally replayed historical example, not a claim that every move is best. A game’s result does not prove every defensive position was lost or drawn.

Game source ↗

Your thinking first

Name the signal, choose a plan, and test the opponent’s most challenging response.

What do you notice?What is your plan, and why?How could the opponent resist?

Recall and explain

1. A pawn can promote while forcing a response from the enemy king. How would you apply “promote with check to preserve the initiative”, and which defensive reply must you check?

Explain it in your own words before revealing.

Make it memorable

Promote, then finish the calculation.

Teach this to a friend in one minute. Then return to a different example and look for the same signal without being told its name.

Reflect and revisit

This is your self-assessment, not an engine grade or a promise of mastery.

Connect the ideas

Practise pawn transformations →

Sources and further reading

Original GolgiChess teaching and game analysis. Topic references are credited below; no affiliation or endorsement is implied.