Good capture

Why check every capture

You want to take a piece at once, but many blunders start with a capture: the piece was defended, or the capture opens a tactic. Checking the reply before you move saves the most points.

The trainer shows a position and an arrow with a capture. Say whether it is good. Positions come from lichess puzzles and are checked by Stockfish. A blunder is a capture after which the side loses at least three pawns or gets mated. A good capture takes an undefended piece or a clearly more valuable one. Trades and sacrifices are left out: they have no clear answer. After the answer an arrow shows the refutation.

How to play

1. Choose the level: Easy has few pieces and only what you can see in one move.
2. Look at the arrow: this is the capture the side to move wants to make. Check the reply: can the opponent take back, give check or fork?
3. Press Good capture or Blunder. The board then shows the move, the refutation and why.
4. The squares above the board show your answers: tap one to solve that position again and see the review.

Questions and answers

What counts as a blunder?

A capture after which the side loses at least three pawns by the engine evaluation or gets mated. For example, a queen takes a defended pawn.

What about trades?

Trades and sacrifices are left out: whether they are good depends on the position. Only clear cases are here: the piece is undefended, you take a more valuable piece, or the capture loses material.

How do the levels differ?

By the number of pieces: up to 12 on Easy, 13 to 20 on Medium, more than 20 on Hard. Easy has only what you can see in one move: an undefended piece, an instant recapture or mate in one.

Is it free?

Yes, the trainer is free and works without sign-up.