Chess lessons › Good chess habits
Checks, captures and threats
Look at the forcing moves first, for both sides: they decide most games.
The idea
Look at checks, captures and threats first, for both sides.
- Start with the checks: this knight has two of them.
- From here it checks the king and attacks the queen as well.
- From here it only gives check, and a pawn takes it.
In a game: On every move, list the checks, captures and threats, for you and for your opponent.
The lesson
Checks, captures and threats are called forcing moves, because they leave the other side only a few replies. That makes them the easiest moves to work out, and the most costly to miss. Look at them first, and for both sides: your own, and your opponent’s after your move.
Here White has exactly two checks, Ne7+ and Nf6+. Before you think about anything else, look at what each one does.
Find the move
White to move. One of the two checks wins. Find it.
A hint
Which check also attacks the queen?
Show the answer
1. Ne7+
Ne7+ checks the king and attacks the queen on c8 at the same time. The king has to move, and then the knight takes the queen. Nf6+ gets nothing: the pawn on g7 simply takes the knight.
Find the move
White to move. There are two checks, Qxh7+ and Bxh7+, but the knight on f6 takes either piece. So go on to the captures. Which capture wins?
A hint
Which black piece guards h7? Can you take it?
Show the answer
1. Bxf6
Bxf6 takes the knight that guards h7. Now the queen and the bishop on d3 both aim at h7, and the bishop on f6 attacks the black queen as well. Black cannot meet both threats.
A question
Now you are Black, and a bishop down. Look at your checks first. Black has three: Qe1+, Qe3+ and Qc5+. Which one helps?
Show the answer
Qc5+.
Right. It checks the king and attacks the bishop on c4 at the same time. White has to deal with the check first, and the position is level again.
Find the move
A position from a real game. White to move. Look at every check first. One of them wins material.
A hint
Which check also hits the black rook?
Show the answer
40. Bf6+ Kf7 41. Bxb2
Bf6+ checks the king and attacks the rook on b2 along the same diagonal. The king moves, and the bishop takes the rook.
Find the move
Another from a real game. White to move. Start with your checks.
A hint
A knight check can hit two pieces at once.
Show the answer
63. Nd6+ Ke6 64. Nxe4
Nd6+ checks the king and attacks the queen on e4. The king moves, and the knight takes the queen.
Practise
Now some on your own. In each one, start with the checks, then the captures.
In the lesson, 5 rated puzzles on this theme come from the puzzle bank, chosen near your rating.