# Week 19: hanging a bishop with check

> Week 19: 1022 → 1038 in 16 rapid games (8 wins, 8 losses). I left a rook, a bishop and a pawn hanging, and Stockfish shows what I missed.

- URL: https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2024-w20/
- Updated: 2026-10-29
- Author: Ignacio Soler

From May 13 to May 19, 2024 I played 16 rapid games, won 8, lost 8, and climbed from **1022 to 1038**. The engine review shows three material-losing decisions: a rook capture, hanging a bishop with check, and a pawn push with an unsafe recapture. These are the three games behind this week's lesson.

## Hanging a bishop with check: the week in numbers

| What | This week |
|---|---|
| Games | 16 (13 at 20 minutes, 3 at 10 minutes) |
| Results | 8 wins, 8 losses, 0 draws |
| Rating | 1022 → 1038 (+16) |
| Average accuracy | 75.6 % |
| Blunders (Stockfish) | 43 |
| Most played openings | Ruy Lopez Cozio Defense (3), Zukertort Variation (2), Indian Game (1) |

The split was perfectly even: 4–4 with White and 4–4 with Black. What wasn't even was where the mistakes
happened. Stockfish found 60 mistakes and blunders in my games, and 40 of them came in the middlegame,
against 16 in the opening and only 4 in the endgame. Only 75 of my 446 moves were played in an
endgame at all.

The most frustrating number: in six of my eight losses (#449, #451, #453, #455, #457 and #464) I had, at
some point, at least an 80 % chance of winning. I also lost two games that ended nine minutes apart to the same opponent,
NeverGonnaCheckYouUp, once against the Englund Gambit with White and once in a Danish Gambit with Black.
Gambits caught me out this week. The King's Gambit was the exception: I won that one with Black, in a
game where Stockfish counted 10 blunders for me and 12 for my opponent.

## Hanging a bishop with check, and two other errors

A hanging piece is one your opponent can take for free, or for less than it's worth. Here are mine.

### The rook: game #449 against Peshuntiy (1051)

I was Black in the Cozio Defense and I was winning, -4.48. One thing needed attention: White's pawn on h5
was attacking my knight on g6.

> **Move 17: my knight on g6 is attacked by the h5 pawn**
> Position (FEN): `r3r1k1/ppp2ppp/3p2n1/7P/2NR1Pb1/2P1B3/PPP5/2K4R b - - 0 17`
> Played: Rxe3 — Rook takes the bishop on e3, where it can be captured
> Better: Ne7 — Knight from g6 to e7, out of the pawn's reach

Stockfish just wanted the knight to step away, 17...Ne7. I took the bishop on e3 with my rook instead,
and my rook could be taken right back: 18.Nxe3. Now I had given a rook for a bishop, White's knight on e3
attacked my bishop on g4, which had no defender, and the h5 pawn was still attacking my knight. The
evaluation swung from -4.48 to +5.74, from winning for me to winning for White, in one move. I resigned one
move later ([game on Chess.com](https://www.chess.com/game/live/109328382157)).

### The bishop: game #450 against phoenixPGI (997)

Same day, now with White in the Zukertort Variation. I was clearly better, +3.02, and I spotted a
pawn on h5 that I could take with check.

> **Move 15: a check that loses a bishop**
> Position (FEN): `r3kbnr/1q1n4/1pp2p2/p2p1ppp/P1PP1B2/1Q2P3/1P1NBPPP/R4RK1 w kq - 0 15`
> Played: Bxh5+ — Bishop takes the pawn on h5 with check, but Black's rook can take it
> Better: cxd5 — Pawn takes the pawn on d5

15.Bxh5+ is the kind of move I play because it gives check. Checks feel forcing. But the rook on h8 was
looking straight down the h-file, and 15...Rxh5 took my bishop for a single pawn. The evaluation went
from +3.02 to -3.32. The engine's move was the plain 15.cxd5, taking a pawn in the centre. I still won
this game, by checkmate after 85 moves of my own and with 44 seconds left on my clock, but only because
phoenixPGI blundered even more than I did (11 blunders to my 7) ([game on Chess.com](https://www.chess.com/game/live/109330229685)).

### The pawn: game #451 against fdsetretresttgfdgsd0 (1177)

The sneakiest one. I was White and completely winning, +6.34, against a higher-rated opponent.

> **Move 19: Black's rook on c8 and my queen on c2 share the c-file**
> Position (FEN): `q1r2rk1/5ppp/p3p3/NpbpN3/5P2/2P5/PPQ2PPP/R4RK1 w - - 0 19`
> Played: b4 — Pawn from b2 to b4, attacking the bishop on c5
> Better: Nb3 — Knight from a5 to b3, also attacking the bishop on c5

19.b4 attacks the bishop on c5, and the pawn looks protected by my pawn on c3. It isn't, really. Black can
answer 19...Bxb4, and if I take back with 20.cxb4, the c-file opens and Black's rook plays 20...Rxc2,
taking my queen. I checked that line with the engine afterwards. So the bishop could take my pawn for free and
attack my knight on a5, which has no defender. The evaluation fell from +6.34 to +2.73. The engine's
19.Nb3 attacks the same bishop without giving anything away. This game then ended in a strange way:
Chess.com logs it as a loss on time, although my clock still showed 763 seconds after my 20th move. The
clock ran out before I made my 21st ([game on Chess.com](https://www.chess.com/game/live/109334493125)).

## The lesson of the week

All three moves did something active: a capture, a check, a pawn attacking a piece. And all three failed
the same test. The lesson I took from this week is a single question I want to ask before every capture,
check or pawn push: **after this move, what can take the piece I just moved, and can I really take
back?** The last part matters. In game #451 I could "take back" only by opening a file onto my own queen.
For me, that question is the most practical answer to how to stop hanging pieces in chess. It doesn't
need any opening knowledge, just one second before I let go of the piece.

## All games this week

| Game # | Date | Colour | Opponent (rating) | Result | Opening | Accuracy | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 449 | May 13 | Black | Peshuntiy (1051) | Loss | Ruy Lopez Opening Cozio Defense | 51.4 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/109328382157) |
| 450 | May 13 | White | phoenixPGI (997) | Win | Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation | 78.9 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/109330229685) |
| 451 | May 13 | White | fdsetretresttgfdgsd0 (1177) | Loss | Indian Game | 90.7 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/109334493125) |
| 452 | May 13 | Black | GilfranMateus (1049) | Win | Ruy Lopez Opening Cozio Defense | 82.0 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/109337478671) |
| 453 | May 13 | White | DMSMorningstar (1111) | Loss | Queens Pawn Opening Accelerated London System | 69.0 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/109346487183) |
| 454 | May 13 | Black | kaifak (1042) | Win | Polish Opening | 76.8 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/109350660207) |
| 455 | May 14 | White | NeverGonnaCheckYouUp (1030) | Loss | Englund Gambit | 44.7 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/109412471403) |
| 456 | May 14 | Black | NeverGonnaCheckYouUp (1038) | Loss | Danish Gambit | 70.8 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/109413091977) |
| 457 | May 14 | White | dannytwotime (1012) | Loss | Modern Defense with 1 d4 | 53.0 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/109432894613) |
| 458 | May 14 | Black | ThistlerOne (995) | Win | Queens Pawn Opening | 96.7 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/109462793865) |
| 459 | May 14 | Black | stari_vrag (1079) | Win | Kings Gambit | 67.1 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/109463468267) |
| 460 | May 15 | White | mangobrown1 (1010) | Win | Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation | 97.7 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/109552870695) |
| 461 | May 15 | White | Straw_Biter (1070) | Win | Indian Game East Indian London System | 88.6 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/109553387273) |
| 462 | May 18 | Black | DavidTheG6 (1065) | Loss | English Opening Kings English Variation | 77.4 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/109813845489) |
| 463 | May 19 | White | vaibhav2410 (1094) | Win | Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 93.7 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/109849899629) |
| 464 | May 19 | Black | bshtylla (1254) | Loss | Ruy Lopez Opening Cozio Defense | 70.8 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/109898417971) |

← [Week 18](/journey/week-2024-w19/) · [Week 20](/journey/week-2024-w21/) → · [All weeks of the
journey](/journey/) · Chess Coach finds these moments in your games too:
[review your own games like this](/features/ai-chess-analysis/).

For a general method beyond this week's games, see [the piece-safety routine](/guides/how-to-stop-hanging-pieces-in-chess/).

## FAQ

### How did I hang a bishop while giving check?

In game 450 my bishop took the pawn on h5 with check, but Black's rook on h8 could capture it and did. The engine preferred capturing in the centre with the c-pawn.

### What is a hanging piece in chess?

A piece that can be taken for free, or for less than it is worth. In game #450 my bishop took a pawn on h5 with check, and Black's rook simply took the bishop.

### Can a pawn be hanging even if it looks defended?

Yes. In game #451 my pawn on b4 seemed protected by the pawn on c3, but recapturing would have opened the c-file and let Black's rook take my queen on c2.

## Related

- [From 631 to 1385: my chess journey in 2,117 games](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey.md)
- [Week 18 (May 2024): one win in ten games with Black](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2024-w19.md)
- [Week 20 (May 2024): six losses in a row, and why](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2024-w21.md)
- [Can Claude analyze chess games? Yes, with Stockfish](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/answers/can-claude-analyze-chess-games.md)
- [How to stop hanging pieces in chess: a safety routine](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/guides/how-to-stop-hanging-pieces-in-chess.md)