Removing the defender

Sort:
IAmPomi

Hi everyone! This is Pomi. And now I'm going to show you an important tactic in chess. This tactic is known as Removing the Defender.


What's a hanging piece?

A hanging piece is an undefended piece that can be captured. It can also be a piece that is defended, but not by enough pieces (1 defender vs 2 attackers, for example). Look at this position:

 

Hanging pieces define most beginner games. Even masters have lost games because of them! We always have to be careful when we move, lest we have a hanging piece.
 

 What's removing the defender?

Removing the defender is a tactic that consists on eliminating the defender of another piece, so after the exchange, it will be a hanging piece, and we can take it. Generally we can do it by exchanging it, but you can just attack it, or deflect it. Look at this example:

Here's another example

 

Why is removing the defender important?

It's important because this can make you win a lot of games, but mostly, because if you don't know what it is, you can lose a lot of games if you ignore it.



Thanks for reading! I hope you can use this in your games!
 
Also, thanks @tsrif1 for helping me with the article happy.png
Checknologist

Nice! This definitely should be an interesting read for beginners! I like the effort you put in as well! wink.png

genehuevietnam
Aida_Amin wrote:

Nice! This definitely should be an interesting read for beginners! I like the effort you put in as well!

ya

25GSchatz22

Great Article!

ambessonov

Great article, but in the third example, both black bishops are on the same color. The position is impossible in a real game.

IAmPomi

Yeah, I changed it.