Hi everyone! This is Pomi. And now I'm going to show you an important concept in chess. This concept is known as Forcing Combinations.
What's a forcing move?
Don't confuse forced moves with forcing moves. A forcing move is a move you make (generally a check) so your opponent has to make one specific move, maybe because it's the only option, or maybe because other moves are forced mates, or it allows us to gain material. That specific move is called a forced move. Look at this example.
Not all forcing moves are checks. Here is a position of a puzzle I made a while ago:
What's a forcing combination?
A forcing combination is a series of forcing moves that mostly leads to checkmate, but it can also allow you to gain material, and other stuff. Look at this example:
Here we can deliver checkmate with a forced combination:
Why is this important to know?
Because you generally use forcing moves to checkmate someone. If you don't know how to make forcing moves, it will be harder to checkmate your opponents. Forcing moves can also help to gain material, promote pawns, and allow you to move quicker, since you don't have to think about your opponent's moves.
Puzzles:
Black to move and checkmate:
White to move and checkmate:
White to move and win a rook:
Thanks for reading! I hope you can use this in your games!
Also, thanks @tsrif1 for helping me with the article
Hi everyone! This is Pomi. And now I'm going to show you an important concept in chess. This concept is known as Forcing Combinations.
What's a forcing move?
Don't confuse forced moves with forcing moves. A forcing move is a move you make (generally a check) so your opponent has to make one specific move, maybe because it's the only option, or maybe because other moves are forced mates, or it allows us to gain material. That specific move is called a forced move. Look at this example.
What's a forcing combination?
A forcing combination is a series of forcing moves that mostly leads to checkmate, but it can also allow you to gain material, and other stuff. Look at this example:
Why is this important to know?
Because you generally use forcing moves to checkmate someone. If you don't know how to make forcing moves, it will be harder to checkmate your opponents. Forcing moves can also help to gain material, promote pawns, and allow you to move quicker, since you don't have to think about your opponent's moves.
Puzzles: