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Basic Chess Tactics

Introduction and Chess Notation.

Chess tactics are simply types of moves that help us to accomplish useful things ( such as winning a piece or checkmating the opponent) in a chess game. It is impossible to improve your game very much without learning the basic tactical ideas that we will talk about here. (We are using modern notation, in which the board is divided into 64 squares designated with a letter and number, with each file being given a letter from a to h, and each rank given a number from 1 to 8. As you can see from the diagram below, all of white’s pieces begin on the 1st rank and all of black’s on the 8th rank. Each move is described by writing the number of the move, the initial of the piece being moved (B for bishop, N for knight, K for King, Q for Queen, R for rook, nothing for a pawn move) the square it comes from, and the square to which it is going. Many players also use “x” to mean “takes”. So if both sides move their king pawns 2 squares on the first move, their king knights on the second move, and white takes the pawn (the Petroff defence) it would be written 1.e2-e4 e7-e5 2.Ng1-f3 Ng8-f6 3.Nxe5. If a piece or pawn could only have come from one square, we can simply show the destination square, simplifying to 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6.

1. Simple Destruction

Perhaps the most important basic tactic is simply taking the pieces and pawns and opportunities for checkmate that your opponent offers you. Sometimes you have several choices and you need to take time to find the best capture or, even better, checkmate. Try to find the best destructive move for White in this position:

Basic Tactics-D 1



2. Back Row Checkmates

Many games are won with these simple checkmates, where the king cannot escape from the back row or side of the board. Remember that the king cannot move into check or take a piece that is protected by another piece. Some examples of these checkmates are shown below:

-Back Row Checkmates-D2



3.Smothered Checkmates

When the King is completely blocked in by its own pieces and is successfully checked by the knight, which means the knight cannot be taken, then it is called a smothered checkmate.

Basic Tactics-Smothered Checkmates-D3



4. Ladder Checkmate

If you are lucky enough to have at least two pieces that can cut off an entire file of the board (rooks or queens), it can be very simple to perform a “ladder” mate. As shown in d3, one rook or queen cuts off the king, while the other checks, alternating like going up the steps of a ladder. In d3 the checkmate would go 1.Rc1+ Kb7 (+means check, ++ means checkmate) 2.Rb3+ Ka6 3.Ra1++. Remember that when you ladder mate with rooks, you must be careful that the opponent’s king cannot approach and capture one of your rooks.

Ladder Checkmate-D4



5. Checkmating with King and Queen vs. King

This mate requires both King and Queen to drive the defending King to the edge of the board. An example is shown in d4; after 1.Qg6+ Kd7 2.Kc5 Kc7 3.Qg7+ Kb8(it wouldn’t matter if black went Kc8 or Kd8), black’s King is cut off on the edge of the board. Now white’s king moves in; 4.Kc6 Ka8 5.Qb7++. You should practice this “herding” process until you can always checkmate within a minute or so.

Checkmating with King and Queen vs. King -D5

6. Checkmating with Rook and King vs. King

This mate is very similar to mating with King and Queen, but takes longer because the rook is much weaker than the Queen. A key concept that you need to understand is King opposition; this occurs, as in d4, when the two kings face each other 1 square apart. These opposing Kings cannot approach each other, so if there is a rook check from the side, the King will be driven back. If the King is on the edge of the board, the check from the side will be checkmate .(small diagram) In D5 white begins with 1.Rh4, cutting off black’s King from the 4th rank; after Kc5 2.Kd3 Kb5 3.Kc3 Kc5 (if black went Ka5 white would cut him off with Rb4) the Kings are in opposition. 4.Rh5+ then drives the black King to the 6th rank, and we repeat the process all over until we have driven black to the edge of the board, as shown in d6.Here, if white tries to get opposition by playing Kc6, black plays Kd8 and white has made no progress. But by playing Rh7 to “lose” a move, white forces black to move at an inconvenient time. If black plays Kd8, then Rh8 is mate, so black must play Kb8.

Checkmating with Rook and King vs. King-D6

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White then plays Kc6 and black is forced to play Ka8. Then, after Kb6 by white, black must play Kb8 and white mates with Rh8.Again, you must practice this basic checkmate until you have mastered it.

King and Rook vs. King- D7

7. Pins

A pin is an attack on a piece by a bishop, Queen, or rook (the pinning piece) such that either (a) the piece cannot move at all because it would expose the king to check (we call this an absolute pin), or (b) the piece can legally move, but the target piece behind the pinned piece will be lost (we call this a relative pin). A pin can be broken in several ways; a. by capturing the pinning piece, b. by moving the target piece out of the pin, preferably with check, or c. by interposing another piece or pawn in front of the pinning piece. Pins are valuable because they restrict the movement of your opponent’s pieces and sometimes can be used to win material. In the diagram below, for example, Black has pinned the knight at f3, while white has pinned the knight at f6, both relative pins. More important, white’s rook on e1 has an absolute pin of the black Queen. Since black has no acceptable way to break the pin, he will have to give up his Queen for the rook.
Pins-Diagram D8 Pins-D9

In D8, white has pinned black’s Nf6 and is threatening to win it with his pawn on e5. Find three effective ways to break the pin and save the knight.

8.Skewers

Skewers are similar to pins in reverse, with the more valuable piece usually being attacked, and when it is forced to move, the piece behind it being captured. In this diagram, for example, you should be able to find two skewers for white, either of which would win a rook.

Skewers- D10



9.Double Attacks (Forks and Discovered attacks)

“Chess is a game of double attack” stated former World Champion Vassily Smyslov. Forks and discovered attacks are powerful tactics because they require your opponent to meet two or more threats at the same time, which is often simply impossible.

Forks. The simplest double attacks are called forks, where one attacking piece attacks two (or more) defending pieces or pawns at the same time. For example, pawn forks as shown in D11 are common and can victimize even experienced players. Make sure you can see both pawn forks in diagram.

Forks, The Pawn Fork-D11

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Another common multiple attack is the knight fork. In D12, the white knight can fork three pieces at once with Ne6+; after the King moves out of check, white will take the Queen. Notice that all of the pieces being attacked are on dark squares, because the knight can attack only one color at a time. So if your King and Queen are on different colored squares, they can’t be forked by a knight.

The Knight Fork-D12



Somewhat less common, but still powerful, are bishop forks. In D13 white wins the game with a bishop fork; after Bxe5+ black must move his King, and white can then take the rook on b8

The Bishop Fork-D13

Also very useful and common are rook forks. In D13, for example, white can win a piece with Rh5, since black can’t defend both bishop and knight. Black could then fork the a2 and c2 pawns with Rb2, winning at least one pawn.

The Rook Fork-D14

Since Queens combine the powers of bishops and rooks, queen forks can be especially devastating. In D15, Black is ahead in material, but Qe5+ wins the rook and destroys his position. If you are playing with several pieces against a Queen, the possibility of Queen forks requires you to carefully coordinate and protect your pieces.

Forks Diagram 5-The Queen Fork-D15

Discovered Attacks. A discovered attack occurs when a move by one piece opens up an attack by another piece. In D15 we see an example from the Petroff defence after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nxe4 4.Qe2 Nf6 ?? (?? Means very bad move).

Now 5.Nc6 discovered check, wins the Queen, since Black cannot get out of check and save his Queen from the knight.

The Discovered Check!-D16

Another example is shown in d17, where black’s Queen on d4 seems safe, but will actually be lost after Bb5+ with a discovered attack on the unprotected Queen. Finally, the most devastating discovered attack of all is the double discovered check, as shown in d17. Nd6 double discovered check is checkmate because black can take either the knight or the rook, but not both at the same time.

The Double Discovered Check!!-D17

Of course, many discovered attacks do not involve check at all and may only win a pawn, but they are a vital basic tactic.

10. Combinations

Once you have mastered these basic tactical ideas, the next step is to learn how to set them up with a previous move, usually a sacrifice: this is called a combination.

One simple example is shown in diagram below.. Here 1.Rxe5 begins a combination that wins for white; see if you can figure it out.

The Basic Combination-D18