Chess tactics

Forks, pins and the other tricks that win material. 17 lessons, 3 of them free.

Forks
Beginner · 9 min · Free
One move attacks two pieces, and only one can be saved.
1. The knight lands where it attacks two pieces.
2. One of them is the king, so it must move.
3. Then the knight takes the rook.
In a game: Look for a square where one of your pieces would attack two loose pieces at once.
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Pins
Beginner · 9 min · Free
A piece that cannot move without exposing a bigger one behind it.
1. The bishop attacks the knight.
2. The king stands behind it on the same line.
3. So the knight cannot move: it is pinned.
In a game: Look for two enemy pieces on one line, the more valuable one behind.
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Loose pieces
Beginner · 8 min · Free
A piece that nothing defends can often be taken for free.
1. The knight is defended by a pawn.
2. Nothing defends the bishop: it is loose.
3. So the queen takes it, and nothing can take her back.
In a game: Look for pieces that nothing defends, and count attackers and defenders before you take.
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Skewers
Intermediate · 8 min · Pro
Attack a big piece, and take the one behind it when it moves.
1. The rook gives check along the back rank.
2. The king has to step off the rank.
3. Then White takes the rook that stood behind the king.
In a game: Look for a king or queen with another piece behind it on the same line.
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Discovered attacks
Intermediate · 9 min · Pro
Move one piece out of the way, and the piece behind it attacks.
1. The knight stands between its rook and the black king.
2. The knight jumps away, and the rook behind it gives check.
3. The knight also attacks the queen, so she is lost.
In a game: Look for your piece standing in front of your rook, bishop or queen, aimed at a target.
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Double check
Intermediate · 8 min · Pro
Two pieces give check at once, so only the king can move.
1. The knight gives check.
2. The rook gives check at the same time.
3. Nothing can block or take both, so the king must move.
In a game: Look for a discovered check where the piece that moves gives check too.
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Remove the defender
Intermediate · 8 min · Pro
Take the piece that guards your target, and the target falls.
1. The black queen is the only defender of the bishop.
2. White takes that queen, and Black takes back with a pawn.
3. Now nothing defends the bishop, and the rook takes it.
In a game: When a piece has only one defender, look for a way to take that defender.
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Deflection and attraction
Intermediate · 9 min · Pro
Pull a defender away from its job, or drag a piece onto a bad square.
1. The rook is the only defender of the black queen.
2. White’s rook gives check, and the black rook must take it.
3. Now nothing defends the black queen, and White takes her.
In a game: When one piece guards something important, look for a check or capture that pulls it away.
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The in-between move
Intermediate · 8 min · Pro
Before the move everyone expects, slip in a check or a big capture.
1. The pawn could take the rook right away.
2. But first the knight takes the queen, with check.
3. Black has to answer the check, and then the pawn takes the rook.
In a game: Before the obvious move, such as taking back, look for a check or a bigger capture.
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X-ray
Intermediate · 8 min · Pro
A piece attacks or defends through another piece on its line.
1. The black queen has one defender, the rook beside her.
2. White’s rook sees the same square, right through its own queen.
3. So the queen takes, Black takes back, and White’s rook mates.
In a game: When you count attackers and defenders, count the pieces lined up behind them too.
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Trapped pieces
Intermediate · 8 min · Pro
A piece that is attacked and has no safe square to go to is lost.
1. The bishop stands on the edge, with very little room.
2. The pawn steps up, attacks it, and blocks its way out.
3. This pawn guards both squares the bishop could go to, so the bishop is trapped.
In a game: Look for enemy pieces on the edge with few squares, and take those squares away.
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Clearance and interference
Intermediate · 9 min · Pro
Clear the way for your own piece, or cut a line between enemy pieces.
1. The knight stands in the way of its own rook.
2. It takes a pawn with check, and Black must take the knight.
3. Now the file is open, and the rook gives mate.
In a game: When your own piece blocks your rook or bishop, look for a check that moves it away.
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Quiet moves
Advanced · 8 min · Pro
A move with no check or capture, but with a threat that cannot be met.
1. The knight moves here, with no check and no capture.
2. The knight now guards this square, so the rook threatens mate on it.
3. Black cannot stop it, and the rook mates next move.
In a game: When no check or capture works, look for a quiet move with a threat that cannot be stopped.
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Attacking the king
Intermediate · 10 min · Pro
Give up a piece to open the enemy king, when the attack is sound.
1. The bishop gives itself up here, with check.
2. If the king takes it, the knight jumps in with check.
3. The queen joins the attack, and the king stands in the open.
In a game: Before you give up a piece near the king, count your attackers against its defenders.
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Passed pawns and promotion
Intermediate · 10 min · Pro
A pawn that no enemy pawn can stop, on its way to becoming a queen.
1. No black pawn stands in front of the white pawn.
2. No black pawn stands on the files beside it either.
3. So it is passed: only pieces can stop it becoming a queen.
In a game: Look for a pawn that no enemy pawn can block or take, and push it.
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Zugzwang and the opposition
Intermediate · 9 min · Pro
Every move makes things worse, but you still have to move.
1. The kings face each other with one square between: the opposition.
2. Black has to move, and every king move gives way.
3. White’s king gets past, and the pawn goes on to become a queen.
In a game: In king and pawn endings, face the enemy king one square apart, with your opponent to move.
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Defence
Intermediate · 9 min · Pro
First see what your opponent threatens, then find the best answer.
1. First see the threat: the queen gives check.
2. Look at every answer: move the king, block, or take the checking piece.
3. The rook blocks: the king protects it, and it attacks the queen.
In a game: After each move your opponent makes, ask what it threatens before you plan your own.
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