A pin is an attack on a piece that cannot move away without uncovering a more valuable piece behind it. When the piece behind is the king, the pinned piece may not move at all; when it is a queen or a rook, moving costs material. Bishops, rooks and queens pin along their lines. Look for two enemy pieces on the same line with one of your long-range pieces able to reach it, and then for a way to attack the pinned piece again.
Below are three puzzles on this theme from the Lichess puzzle database, from easier to harder. Each one is solved move by move, with what every move does and what the line wins.
Puzzle 1: rated 1,033
White has just played 20.dxe5, the arrow on the diagram. Black to move. Lichess rates this puzzle 1,033, from 3,435 attempts. Try it before you read on, or set it up on a board.
The solution
- 20...Bd3: the bishop goes to d3.
- 21.Qxd3: the queen takes the bishop on d3.
- 21...Rxd3: the rook takes the queen on d3.
Bd3 pins the queen to the king. By the end of the line, White has taken a bishop, and Black has taken a queen, so Black is ahead by 6 points of material.
Puzzle 2: rated 1,229
Black has just played 30...Rf8, the arrow on the diagram. White to move. Lichess rates this puzzle 1,229, from 5,308 attempts. Try it before you read on, or set it up on a board.
The solution
- 31.Rxg7: the rook takes the rook on g7.
- 31...Qxg7: the queen takes the rook on g7.
- 32.Rh7: the rook goes to h7.
- 32...Qxh7: the queen takes the rook on h7.
- 33.Qxh7+: the queen takes the queen on h7, with check.
Rxg7 pins the queen to the king. By the end of the line, White has taken a queen and a rook, and Black has taken two rooks, so White is ahead by 4 points of material.
Puzzle 3: rated 1,581
White has just played 15.f5, the arrow on the diagram. Black to move. Lichess rates this puzzle 1,581, from 4,658 attempts. Try it before you read on, or set it up on a board.
The solution
- 15...Bg5: the bishop goes to g5.
- 16.Qxg5: the queen takes the bishop on g5.
- 16...Nxg5: the knight takes the queen on g5.
Bg5 pins the queen to the king. By the end of the line, White has taken a bishop, and Black has taken a queen, so Black is ahead by 6 points of material.
Keep practising
The lesson Pins teaches the idea step by step, with positions to solve. GreyChess's rated puzzles come from the same Lichess database, sorted by theme and rating, so you can practise this tactic at your own level.