IMBacon wrote:
Forcing Moves: Checks, Captures, Threats (attacks)
Without a forcing move, you wont have a tactic.
Thanks IMBacon, that helps make things clearer. Even if force alone is not sufficient to make a tactic, it's necessary element at least.
Consider Tactics Trainer puzzle #6958696, for example: https://www.chess.com/puzzles/problem/658696
White will move the queen to g8, threatening to give mate on h7. That threat will deflect Black's rook from guarding f7. In this puzzle, the tactic involves deflection, but does the tactical theme also include the threat which caused that deflection? This may seem to be merely a question of semantics, but as a fairly inexperienced puzzle-solver I'm finding it helpful to include such "concrete threats" on the short list of things I look for, alongside bona fide tactical themes like "loose pieces," and "weak back ranks," etc.