Examples of Chess Tactics

Getting started

Common chess tactics include forks, pins, skewers, discovered attacks, double attacks, back-rank mates, deflection, decoy, overloading, removing the defender, clearance, and zwischenzug.

Forcing tactics

Checks, captures, and threats force the opponent to respond. Most tactics begin by limiting the opponent choice.

• Fork: one piece attacks two targets.
• Pin: a piece cannot move safely because something valuable sits behind it.
• Skewer: the valuable piece is in front and must move.

Defender tactics

Many tactics work by changing defensive jobs. A defender gets removed, overloaded, deflected, or lured away from the thing it protects.

• Overloading: one piece has too many jobs.
• Deflection: a defender is forced away.
• Removing the defender: capture the guard, then win the target.

Timing tactics

Zwischenzug and desperado ideas ask whether an urgent move should come before the obvious recapture.

• Look for checks before recapturing.
• Look for threats with tempo.
• Ask what changes if you delay the obvious move by one turn.