Underpromotion puzzles

A pawn reaches the last rank, and a queen is the wrong choice. A knight might give check with a fork, a rook or bishop might avoid stalemate.

These are rare in real games - which is exactly why they are worth training. Most players never even consider the other pieces.

How to spot it

• Before queening, check whether a queen would stalemate the opponent.
• A knight promotion can give check or a fork that a queen cannot.
• Choose the piece on the board: the promotion picker offers all four.