Quick Jump:
- Forks & Double Attacks
- Pins
- Deflection/Removing The Guard
- Discoveries
- Skewers
- Trapping Pieces
- Decoys
- Intermediate Moves
- Pawn Promotion
- Back Rank Weakness
- Destroying The Castled King’s Defenses
Forks & Double Attacks
In chess, a fork occurs when a single piece attacks two or more enemy targets simultaneously. It may involve a direct attack on multiple pieces or a combination of a checkmate threat and an attack on another piece. All chess pieces can create forks, but the Knight is particularly effective due to its unique movement, while the Queen’s range makes it versatile. Although a fork is a powerful tactical tool, it can sometimes be countered successfully.
Practice Forks & Double Attacks Puzzles
Pins
A pin in chess involves three key elements: the piece delivering the pin, the pinned piece, and the piece positioned behind the pinned piece along the same line. Pins can be classified into two types: absolute and relative. In an absolute pin, the pinned piece cannot legally move because it would expose the king to check. In a relative pin, the pinned piece is allowed to move, but doing so could result in a disadvantage, such as losing material or enabling a checkmate.
Deflection/Removing The Guard/Overloadings
These are all methods of forcing an opponent’s piece to abandon its defensive role. While each tactic has a distinct meaning, they all revolve around either compelling a piece to leave a protective position or exploiting its inability to do so. If you can remove the guarding piece—whether by capturing it (removing the guard), overburdening it (overload), or driving it away (deflection)—you can target the piece or square it was protecting.
Removing the Guard
This tactic involves capturing a piece that is protecting another valuable target. By eliminating the guard, the “treasure” it was defending becomes vulnerable. The sequence is simple: take the guard, then claim the treasure.
Overload
An overloaded or overworked piece is tasked with defending multiple threats. By exploiting this weakness, you can force it to fail at one of its duties. Overloading is closely related to the idea of undermining, as it disrupts the opponent’s defense.
Deflection
Deflection involves forcing a piece to move away from a critical defensive position. This can be achieved by attacking the piece directly or by offering a sacrifice that compels it to move. Once deflected, the original position is exposed, allowing you to exploit its absence.
Practice Removing the Guard, Overload & Deflection Puzzles
Discoveries
A Discovery is similar to a Pin or Skewer, but instead of an enemy piece blocking the attack, it is one of your own pieces that initially obstructs your long-range attacker. To execute a discovery, you move the blocking piece, uncovering an attack by the piece behind it. Ideally, the moving piece also creates its own threat, resulting in two simultaneous attacks. This often forces your opponent into a difficult position where they must sacrifice material to respond effectively.
Skewers
A Skewer is similar to a Pin, but instead of targeting a less valuable piece in front of a more important one, the more valuable piece is attacked first. When the higher-value piece moves to avoid the attack, the piece behind it becomes vulnerable and can be captured. If the pieces involved are of equal value, such as two Knights, it is still considered a skewer.
Trapping Pieces
Trapping a piece is one of the more straightforward tactical ideas in chess. It involves attacking a piece that either has no escape or can only move to another unsafe square. A primary objective in chess is to trap the opponent’s king and deliver checkmate.
Practice Trapping Pieces Puzzles
Decoys
Sometimes, you may need an enemy piece to move to a specific square where it becomes more vulnerable. This tactic is known as a decoy. Other terms for this concept include Driving On, Attraction, and Luring. Some experts reserve the term “decoy” specifically for use in endgame scenarios.
Intermediate Moves
An intermediate move, also called an in-between move or zwischenzug (its German name), involves delaying an expected move—such as a recapture or retreating a threatened piece—in favor of a check or another forcing move. This tactic is one of the most frequently overlooked by even strong players.
Practice Intermediate Move Puzzles
Pawn Promotion
Pawns are the least valuable pieces at the start of the game, but they hold significant potential if they can reach the opposite side of the board and be promoted to a more powerful piece. While promotion typically happens in the endgame, there are numerous exceptions where it can occur earlier.
Practice Pawn Promotion Puzzles
Back Rank Weakness
The back-rank problem arises when a king is at risk of being checkmated on the eighth rank (for Black) or the first rank (for White) because:
a) The king’s escape in one direction is blocked by the edge of the board; b) Its escape in the other direction is typically obstructed by its own pieces.
Practice Bank Rank Weakness Puzzles
Destroying The Castled King’s Defenses
It is widely recognized that keeping the king in the center of the board is risky, which is why early castling is often recommended. However, even after castling, there can still be potential dangers.