chess tactics for beginners

5 Chess Tactics Patterns a Beginner Should Know

It becomes a lot easier to win more games when you know a few common chess tactics. Here’s examples of the 5 most important tactical motifs a beginner should know.

Pin

A pin occurs when an attacked piece can’t move since doing so would expose another, more valuable, target. Because of it’s limited (or no) mobility, you can often find a way to take advantage of a pinned piece.

https://chessfox.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/chess-tactics-for-beginners-pin-150x150.png 150w, https://chessfox.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/chess-tactics-for-beginners-pin-300x300.png 300w" style="height:auto;" /> White’s bishop on e5 pins the black queen to the king. The queen can’t escape because it’s illegal to leave your king in check. White will probably capture black’s queen on the next move.

Skewer

Skewers are related to pins, but they aren’t the same. In the case of a skewer the higher-valued piece is first in the line of attack. Moving the skewered piece will expose a lower-valued piece (or target) behind it. A skewer tactic is sometimes referred to as a “reversed pin”.

https://chessfox.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/chess-tactics-for-beginners-skewer-150x150.png 150w, https://chessfox.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/chess-tactics-for-beginners-skewer-300x300.png 300w" style="height:auto;" /> White plays 1.Qh8+ and demonstrates a skewer tactic. The black king must move, then white’s queen will capture the black rook on a8.

Double Attack (Fork)

A fork, or double-attack, occurs when you make 2 or more simultaneous threats. It’s a very useful tactical idea because it’s hard (or sometimes impossible) for your opponent to defend against multiple threats at the same time.

https://chessfox.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/beginner-tactics-fork-or-double-attack-150x150.png 150w, https://chessfox.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/beginner-tactics-fork-or-double-attack-300x300.png 300w" style="height:auto;" /> Black moves their knight to f4 and attacks the white king and queen at the same time. This idea is known as a double attack (or fork). Note that white’s pawn on g3 is pinned by the black queen on g6. Similarly, the white pawn on e3 is pinned by black’s rook on e8. So, if white captures your knight, e3xf4, then you will capture their queen, Rxe2.

Removing the Defender

When a piece or important square is defended, then that piece or square can become vulnerable once you remove its defender. This is usually done by a trade, threat or sacrifice that removes the defending piece.

https://chessfox.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/easy-tactics-remove-defender-150x150.png 150w, https://chessfox.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/easy-tactics-remove-defender-300x300.png 300w" style="height:auto;" /> White’s king can’t capture the knight on f2–else their king would be in check by the black queen on f7 (the defender). However, white can first remove the defender by playing 1.Qxf7+ Kxf7, followed by capturing the knight on f2 with their king.

Discovered Attack

A discovered attack occurs when moving a piece reveals a strong threat from a piece hiding behind it. The power of a discovered attack often lies in the fact that you can use it to set up a double attack.

https://chessfox.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/beginner-tactics-discovered-attack-150x150.png 150w, https://chessfox.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/beginner-tactics-discovered-attack-300x300.png 300w" style="height:auto;" /> Black can “discover an attack” on white’s queen by moving the bishop. By playing 1… Bxh2! black checks the white king. White must get their king out of check and then black will capture the white queen, Rxd3.