Last week, we studied decoying tactics, also known as "attraction" sacrifices. Those tactics sought to bring the victim closer, like a magnet. The opposite type of tactic is known as a deflection or removing the guard tactic. In this tactic, we seek to repel the key defender of the position, or remove it completely. These are extremely common and often quite beautiful tactics.
The key to the deflection sacrifice is recognizing which piece is the key to the opponent's defense.
Deflection doesn't have to lead to mate. Sometimes it just leads to the win of material
Here's a pretty example of Black sacrificing to deflect the defenders away from the key squares. In this case, White seems to be defending against both ...Qf2 and ...Qf1, but one move ruins that idea.
The next position is with BLACK to move:
The next example is known as Boden's Mate. This was played in Schulder-Boden, 1860. Black to move.
The next is "Anastasia's Mate". In this case, the key defender is the pawn on h7.
And finally, we will finish with one of the most famous and beautiful examples of a deflection sacrifice, Fischer-Benko, 1965. This is such an iconic combination that the Encyclopedia of Chess Middlegames Combinations used it to define deflections!
There are many, many more examples of deflection or removing the guard. Remember the keys are:
Identify the target. Where do you want to deliver checkmate or attack
Work out what key pieces are stopping you from delivering that attack
Look for a way to remove or deflect that key defender
Last week, we studied decoying tactics, also known as "attraction" sacrifices. Those tactics sought to bring the victim closer, like a magnet. The opposite type of tactic is known as a deflection or removing the guard tactic. In this tactic, we seek to repel the key defender of the position, or remove it completely. These are extremely common and often quite beautiful tactics.
The key to the deflection sacrifice is recognizing which piece is the key to the opponent's defense.
Deflection doesn't have to lead to mate. Sometimes it just leads to the win of material
Here's a pretty example of Black sacrificing to deflect the defenders away from the key squares. In this case, White seems to be defending against both ...Qf2 and ...Qf1, but one move ruins that idea.
The next position is with BLACK to move:
The next example is known as Boden's Mate. This was played in Schulder-Boden, 1860. Black to move.
The next is "Anastasia's Mate". In this case, the key defender is the pawn on h7.
And finally, we will finish with one of the most famous and beautiful examples of a deflection sacrifice, Fischer-Benko, 1965. This is such an iconic combination that the Encyclopedia of Chess Middlegames Combinations used it to define deflections!
There are many, many more examples of deflection or removing the guard. Remember the keys are: