Often times there is a critical weakness in the opponent's position known as the back rank weakness. This is when the opponent's King is placed on the back rank and there are other pieces in front of the King or covering the squares in front of the King which in turn traps the King on the back rank which can often lead to a decisive mating attack.
In a clearance sacrifice the sacrificing player aims to vacate the square the sacrificed piece stood on, either to open up for his own pieces, or to put another, more useful piece on the same square. In this course you will learn how to use this tactical idea successfully so that you will be able to use this idea in your own games.
Deflecting or removing the defender is all about getting a defensive piece out of the way. Often you'll have a situation where if you could just get one of your opponent's pieces away from a key square, you could execute a powerful attack.
These are a specific kind of Double Attack or Discovered Attack. A "Discovered Check" happens when one piece moves away and "uncovers" check against the king by the piece behind it. "Double Check" is the same thing, except that the piece moving away also puts the king into check, so the king is attacked by two pieces at once.
A "double attack" occurs when two pieces make two attacks at the same time. The difference between a fork and a double attack is that a fork is one piece attacking two things at the same time, while a double attack is two pieces making two attacks at the same time. The trick to seeing this possibility in any chess position is to look for any situation where one piece is "covered" by another piece, where if the piece where to become "uncovered", it would create a threat.
This course is designed to explore the fork motif in the game of chess. The fork occurs when one of your pieces can attack two or more of the opponent's pieces. It can be executed with any piece other than the King and it is a very powerful strategy which can quickly turn the tables and lead to a decisive position.
An in-between move or Zwischenzug is one that is made unexpectedly in the midst of a sequence of moves. But not just any series of moves, one in which the player falling for the Zwischenzug feels the sequence is forced, while his opponent demonstrates to him that it certainly isn't! Most commonly these fall in between trades where a recapture seems to be the only proper means of play.
Interference occurs when the line between an attacked piece and its defender is interrupted by sacrificially interposing a piece. It is a chess tactic which seldom arises, and is therefore often overlooked. Opportunities for interference are rare because the defended object must be more valuable than the sacrificed piece, and the interposition must itself represent a threat. But when this opportunity does arise it can reap huge rewards!
Sometimes in chess the pieces can step on each other's toes and get in the way of one another. This allows for the opportunity of trapping pieces and exploiting the opponent's misplaced pieces. Here you will see many examples of misplaced pieces and how to take immediate advantage.
Pins and skewers are two ways that the "long-range" pieces (the bishop, the rook, and the queen) can attack two or more pieces simultaneously along the same rank, file, or diagonal. This is another basic tactical tool that is easy to understand and critical to master.
This course will bring many examples of the smother tactic in chess and how it can be used to put a quick finish to the enemy's king.
Get to know the chess pieces and how to set up the board.
Learn the basic rules of chess and how to play a full game.
Get an advantage in the first few moves
Turn your advantage into checkmate.
Keep your eyes open and capture more pieces.
Win the game by focusing your attack on the vulnerable king
Learn about the most common book chess openings and their main ideas
Explore the strengths and weaknesses of each piece
Know what to do when most pieces are off the board
Surprise your opponents with powerful winning moves
Control the game by calculating a few moves ahead
See the whole board so you can decide on the best plan
Understand what makes the most popular openings great
Train yourself to discover the right plans and ideas
Make the most of each piece by finding its best square
Improve your endgame play with these winning techniques
Set your sights on the king and overwhelm his defences
Win more games with beautiful chess combinations
Learn the critical themes to win more games in the end