TacticForge

Chess tactics and checkmate patterns

Most games below master level are decided by a tactic one player saw and the other didn't. These guides cover the patterns that come up again and again: what each one looks like, how to spot it in time, and real positions to solve.

Tactics

The building blocks. Almost every combination is two or three of these chained together.

ForkA fork is a single move that attacks two or more enemy pieces at the same time, so the opponent can only save one of them.PinA pin is an attack on a piece that cannot move without exposing a more valuable piece standing behind it on the same line.SkewerA skewer attacks a valuable piece that, when it moves out of the way, exposes a less valuable piece standing behind it on the same line.Discovered AttackA discovered attack happens when one piece moves out of the way and uncovers an attack by another piece standing behind it.Double CheckA double check is a move that attacks the enemy king with two pieces at once, leaving a king move as the only legal reply.DeflectionDeflection is a tactic that forces or lures a defending piece away from the square or piece it is guarding, so that what it protected can be taken.DecoyA decoy, also called attraction, is a sacrifice that forces an enemy piece, often the king, onto a particular square where another tactic can hit it.X-Ray AttackAn x-ray is the attack or defence a bishop, rook or queen exerts through an enemy piece, which takes effect the moment that piece moves off the line.ZwischenzugA zwischenzug (German for "in-between move") is a forcing move played instead of the obvious reply, usually before a recapture, that improves the position before the expected move is made.ClearanceClearance is a tactic where you move one of your own pieces, often with tempo or as a sacrifice, to vacate a square, file, rank, or diagonal that another of your pieces needs.InterferenceInterference is a tactic where you place a piece on a line between an enemy piece and the square or piece it defends, cutting the connection so the defended target falls.Removing the DefenderRemoving the defender is a tactic where you capture or exchange off the piece that protects a target, leaving the target undefended so you can win it on the next move.Trapped PieceA trapped piece is one that is attacked, or about to be, and has no safe square to move to, so it will be lost no matter what its owner does.Quiet MoveA quiet move is a move that does not check, capture, or directly attack a piece, yet creates a threat the opponent cannot meet, often as the key step of a combination.ZugzwangZugzwang (German for "compulsion to move") is a position in which the side to move would be fine if it could pass, but every legal move makes its position worse.

Checkmate patterns

Named mating nets worth knowing by sight, so you recognise the final picture before it appears.

Back-Rank MateA back-rank mate is a checkmate delivered by a rook or queen along the first or eighth rank, where the king cannot escape because its own pawns block the squares in front of it.Smothered MateA smothered mate is a checkmate by a knight against a king that cannot move because every square around it is occupied by its own pieces.Anastasia's MateAnastasia's mate is a checkmate in which a knight cuts off the king's escape squares while a rook or queen delivers mate along the edge file, with the king hemmed in by one of its own pawns.Arabian MateThe Arabian mate is a checkmate in which a rook, protected by a knight, checks a cornered king from an adjacent square while the knight covers the diagonal escape square.Boden's MateBoden's mate is a checkmate by two bishops on criss-crossing diagonals, against a king whose remaining escape squares are blocked by its own pieces.Hook MateA hook mate is a checkmate by a rook protected by a knight, which is in turn protected by a pawn, with the king's last escape square blocked by one of its own pawns.Dovetail MateA dovetail mate is a checkmate in which a protected queen stands diagonally next to the king, and the two squares the queen does not cover are blocked by the king's own pieces.Double Bishop MateA double bishop mate is a checkmate by two bishops on adjacent parallel diagonals, one giving check and the other covering the king's escape square, with the remaining flight squares blocked.