Chess tactics: forks, pins, skewers and discovered attacks
Most games between club players aren’t decided by grand plans but by a tactic: a move that wins material because the opponent can’t deal with two things at once. These are the four that come up most, and how to look for them on every move.
· 3 min read
Play Chess1. The fork: two threats with one piece
A fork is a move that attacks two pieces (or a piece and the king) at the same time. The opponent can only save one, and the other one falls.
The knight is the fork specialist: it attacks in an L shape, and the pieces it hits almost never attack it back. A knight that jumps to a square where it gives check and attacks the queen wins the queen. But any piece can fork: a pawn that steps forward hitting two pieces, a queen that checks the king while hitting a loose rook.
- Look for undefended enemy pieces: they are the ideal targets.
- Check which squares are a knight’s jump from the enemy king and queen.
- Before you move, ask whether your own queen and king end up a knight’s jump from an enemy piece.
2. The pin: a piece that can’t move
A pin happens when a piece stands on the line between an attacker (bishop, rook or queen) and a more valuable piece behind it. If the pinned piece moves, the one behind is exposed.
If the king is behind, the pin is absolute: moving that piece is illegal, and Vexply’s board simply won’t let you. If another piece is behind, the pin is relative: it can move, but it usually costs a lot.
A pinned piece is a target: attack it with another piece (a pawn is ideal) and it can’t step away. It also defends badly, because capturing with it uncovers what is behind.
3. The skewer: a pin in reverse
In a skewer, the more valuable piece is attacked first; it has to move, and then the piece behind it on the same line is captured. The classic case: a bishop or rook check on the king, which steps aside and leaves the queen or a rook unprotected.
Skewers are common in rook endgames and open positions, where the long lines are clear. When your king and another of your pieces line up on an open diagonal or file, ask whether your opponent can skewer them.
4. The discovered attack
One of your pieces blocks the line of another of yours (say, a knight in front of a bishop). When the front piece moves, the one behind starts attacking. What makes it strong is that the moving piece can make its own threat at the same time: two attacks in one move.
If the uncovered piece gives check, it’s a discovered check, and the piece that moved is free to take whatever it wants while your opponent deals with the check. If both pieces give check at once, it’s a double check: the only defence is to move the king.
5. A routine for finding them
Tactics show up when you look for them. Before every move, go through checks, captures and threats, in that order. Yours first (is there a check or capture that wins something?), then your opponent’s (what would they do if it were their turn?).
Practise against Vexply’s AI: on Easy it makes mistakes that leave loose pieces and forks on the board, ideal for training your eye; on Hard and Expert it hardly allows them, so every tactic you find counts double. The clock is optional: with no time limit you can check calmly.