DHE Y BESS ¥ McKay Ch Chesn dihrary for RideDavid MacEnulty a Ale Random House Puzzles & GamesJor Elizabeth and Edward ‘The Chess Kid's Book of Tactics Copyright © 2003 by David MacEnulty All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without the written permission of the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to Random House Puzzles & Games, Random House, Inc., New York, NY. Published in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited. Random House is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc. Visit the Random House Puzzles & Games Web site at www.puzzlesatrandom.com Typeset and printed in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is available. 0987654321 July 2003 ISBN: 0-8129-3509-8 New York Toronto London Sydney Auckland **Acknowledgments This book would not have been written were it not for the two Bruces. My mentor, Life Master Bruce Alberston, whose innovations in chess teaching have been an inspiration to me at every step along the way, and National Master Bruce Pandolfini, who has been both friend and guide as I traveled the always exciting world of chess. Iam very grateful to the following teachers for their valuable assis- tance in reviewing an early version of this manuscript: Stephen Herx, Alex Beltre, Fritz Gaspard, Mitchell Fitzko, and Elizabeth Vicary all made important suggestions that have been incorporated into this book. Iam also indebted to Grandmaster Miron Sher and National Mas- ter Bruce Pandolfini for lending their wisdom to this project. Most importantly, I thank my students at C.E.S. 70; they were the in- spiration for this book, and I have used many positions from their tour- nament games in this work. Several of the games in this book have appeared previously in Irving Chernev’s 1000 Best Short Games of Chess, and Bruce Pandolfini’s Traps and Zaps.10 11 Contents Introduction for Parents vii Introduction for Kids = x Chess Basics 1 Tactics Overview 8 En Prise 14 Take a More Important Piece 22 More (or Better) Attackers than Defenders 28 Forks 35 Pins 56 Skewers 76 Discovery and Discovered Check 83 Double Check 91 Overload or Overworked Piece 96vi Zen 2 Contents 12 13 14 15 es 17 Remove the Guard 105 Deflection 112 Decoy 120 Trapping 127 Make the Right Capture 134 Mixed Tactics 147 Part One 149 Part Two 155 Solutions to Mixed Problems 164 About the Author 166Introduction For Parents This book is based on two big ideas: 1. The chess player who knows tactics beats one who doesn't; 2. Tactics are based on basic patterns that can be learned through organized puzzles. Many of the tactical puzzles in this book were used to train young players on our chess team at Community Elementary School 70 in the Bronx. These remarkable children went on to become New York City, New York State, and National Champions. Our team dedicated a lot of time to understanding the basic patterns of chess tactics. We also worked on openings, endings, and checkmate patterns, although these are not covered in this book. While each of those areas is very important, and I look forward to sharing our tech- niques in future books, | believe that learning tactics is the place to start. This book focuses on the tactical patterns that can occur in any game of chess. The intent is to give the beginner who just knows how the pieces move a thoroughly practical and enjoyable way to get better quickly. There is a famous quote that chess is 99% tactics. Understanding many of the common checkmate patterns depends on certain tactical viiIntroduction For Parents ideas, and many opening ideas are based on tactical considerations. One of the few times my team was beaten in a match was when I had been focusing on openings and neglecting tactics. We had great posi- tions out of the opening, but our opponents beat us with superior mid- dle game tactics. We immediately shifted our training back to tactics, and three weeks later we won the National Championship in two dif- ferent sections (K-5 Championship and K-6 JV). When | first started teaching, I was frustrated by the search for ma- terial on tactics. Most of what was available was either too difficult for beginners, or was not thematic in approach. I couldn't find a book that broke the patterns down in the way my beginning students needed. I started borrowing a little here, a little there, and finally realized I would have to create my own book. The more | learned about teaching, the more I learned what my students needed, and the better I was able to construct puzzles to help them learn better. I realized that what I had been doing was making puzzles for chess that are similar to the exer- cises musicians have been using for centuries. My first training was as a musician. I spent thousands of hours prac- ticing scales, intervals, and many other exercises to master my craft. These technical exercises are based on the idea that musicians’ fingers and ears must have an automatic response to the thousands of musical patterns they perform. Since repetition is the mother of retention, mu- sicians practice these patterns over and over and over. This book, then, is a chess version of music technique books. First, the student is given a very basic idea, or pattern, and then they have a chance to practice it with many examples. Just as a musician learns to play one note, then another, then a third, and then joins them together for a simple tune, chess players must learn one pattern, then another, and then join them together for a connected series of moves. Musicians need ear training; chess players need eye training. We need to be able to see patterns on the chessboard just as a musician hears patterns of sound. This can only be done by repetition. We must see the pattern many times in many variations before it becomes an au- tomatic part of our repertoire. Indeed, pattern recognition is the key toIntroduction For Parents success in every field. From woodworking, house painting, and writing to horseback riding, business, and medicine, people perform best by un- derstanding patterns. I strongly suggest that, just as a musician practices an exercise many times, the student go through this book many times. The more times he or she sees a pattern, the more that pattern becomes intuitive. At this early stage in a chess player’s development, verifying the an- swer is critical. For this reason, I have provided answers at the bottom of the page. The student can quickly check the answer without having to go to the end of the chapter or the end of the book to find the correct move. The print on these answers is intentionally small, so the student can easily cover the answers while trying to solve the problems. Check your answers! After verifying the answer, look at the pattern again to lock the picture in your brain. At the end of each chapter, there are a few games featuring the tactic presented in that chapter. In each game, one player makes a significant error. Errors in chess frequently invite a tactical shot. A large part of winning at chess is taking advantage of the mistakes of your opponent. Some of the errors in these games are clearly the moves of total begin- ners, whereas others are a bit more subtle. The final section of puzzles, Mixed Tactics Part Two, starting on page 155, are a significant step up in difficulty from the earlier ones. In the earlier puzzles, the tactic is simply there, waiting for you to find it. In the final section, the student must find the move that sets up the tacti- cal trick. These will require a lot of thought and a lot of patience—two qualities chess players are known for. If the final puzzles seem too difficult at first, students should put the position on a board and try to figure it out with all the relevant pieces in front of them. Ideally, they should try to solve the problems without moving the pieces. The trick is to do them in their heads, as if they were playing a real game with a live opponent. This takes a lot of practice, but the rewards are well worth the effort.Introduction For Kids Tactics are the tricks and techniques chess players use to get a quick ad- vantage in the game. Tactics win games. It’s that simple. This book is loaded with these tricks and techniques. The more you know, the better you play. The better you play, the more you win. A big part of knowing tactics is practicing them, so this book will give you plenty of practice. First we show you a simple idea. Then we give you puzzles to solve to help you lock in the idea. That way, when you see this situation in your own games, you can use your experience to get a winning position. The answers are at the bottom of the page to make it easy to check your solutions. Try to solve the problems without looking at the an- Swers. Once you have done all the puzzles on a page, look to see if you got them all right. If you missed any, go back and study the position to see why you might have missed the correct move. Then go on to the next page. If you find you are missing more than one on a page, go back and do the chapter again.Chess Basics Naming the Squares To understand this book, you must understand algebraic notation. For- tunately, it is easy to learn. The first thing to do is to know how we name squares. The chessboard is a square arrangement of sixty-four smaller squares, laid out in eight rows of eight squares each. The rows going sideways are called RANKS. Ranks are numbered 1 through 8. The rows going up and down the board are called FILES. Files are named after the first eight letters of the alphabet, a through h.bss 2 |G The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics ae ‘eee oa mi aaa Vi, ‘agitce a ee a ae jE ee FILE d PNW RUAN Ow As an example of how we name squares, the five-point star in this dia- gram is on the d-file and also on the 4th rank. So the star is on the square we call d4. The ‘d’ is a lower case letter, and the letter comes before the number. We would not write this as D4, nor would we write it 4d. In chess, we always name the file first, and it is always a lower case letter. What square is the four-point star on? answer: 92. Naming the Pieces There are six different pieces in the chess army. Below are the names of the pieces, the symbol used in notation, and a picture of what it looks like on our diagrams. Name Symbol _ Picture 8 | King K @ ; i Queen Q wy 5} Rook R Ez 4] Bishop B & : Knight N a if Pawn P £ abedefghZl Chess Basics (ee) 3 Note that we use only upper case letters as symbols for the pieces. That way there is no confusion between the upper case B for Bishop and the lower case b for the b-file. You may have noticed that even though the word Knight is spelled with a ‘K’ as the first letter, we use the letter N as the symbol. That’s be- cause we need the letter K for the King. Other symbols used in chess: + at the end of a move indicates that this move puts the opposing King in check. ++ at the end of a move indicates a double check (see page 66). # at the end of a move indicates that this move gives checkmate. 0-0 is used to indicate castling on the Kingside, where there are two squares between the King and Rook. 0-0-0 is used to indicate castling on the Queenside, where there are three squares between the King and Rook. 1-0 means White wins. 0-1 means Black wins. 1/2-1/2 means the game is a draw. ! indicates a strong move. g indicates a weak move or a mistake. dis dis means discovery Reading and Writing Chess Notation Reading and writing chess notation is simple once you know the names of the pieces and the names of the squares. There are various forms of notation, but the most popular form, and the easiest to understand, is algebraic notation. In this book we will use the following style. First, we begin with a number. The number simply tells us which move we are on. So, if there is a 1. in front, it’s the first move. If there is a5. in front, it is the fifth move. Next comes the symbol for the piece that is moving: K for King, Q for Queen, B for Bishop, N for Knight, or R for Rook. We do not give the symbol for the moving unit if it is a Pawn. Finally, we name the square the piece is moving to.The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics t18t . Y Y a, UY, WG G Z We BEN RUAN O In this diagram, White has moved a Pawn from e2 to e4, and Black has moved a Pawn from e7 to é5. Since this is the first move for each side, we write this as: 1. e4 e5 The White move is on the left, Black is on the right. Since these are Pawns, we do not use the symbol for the moving unit. HRW RUA © In move two, both sides brought out a Knight. Now the moves are written like this: 1. e4 e Q. Nf3 Nc6 Note that we use the piece symbol (N for Knight). White's next move will be 3. d4 Diagram after move 3 on the next page.La Chess Basics Oo 5 Is this what you thought it would look like? The position after 3. d4. A d Be al ame Pe soneesie For Black's third move, he takes the pawn on d4. We write this as 3. ... exd4 The 3. means it is the third move of this sequence. The three dots sig- nify that it is Black's move. The ‘x’ means that a capture has taken place. Next, White will recapture the Pawn with the Knight on f3. We write this as 4, Nxd4. In this book, the moves are often written in paragraph form. TheThe Chess Kid's Book of Tactics moves we have shown so far would look like this: 1.e4,e5; 2.Nf3, Nc6; 3. d4, exd4; 4. Nxd4 If two similar pieces can both get to the same square, you must note which one is moving. For example say you have a Knight on c3 and an- other Knight on d2. If the Knight on c3 moves to e4, you would write this as 1. N(c)e4. That way we know it is the Knight on c3, and not the Knight on d2 that is moving to e4. This should be enough for you to be able to read all the notation used in this book. Exchange Guide In chess, we take pieces from our opponent and our opponent takes pieces from us. In order to make a good exchange, we need to know what the different units are worth. These point values indicate the rela- tive strength of the different units in the chess army. The Queen, the most powerful piece, has the most points. The Pawn, being the most limited, has the lowest point value. All other things being equal, the following table will help you deter- mine whether or not you are getting an equal exchange when you trade pieces or pawns. The exception below notwithstanding, it’s usually bet- ter to have more points than your opponent does. Point Values Q Queen = 9 Points R Rook = 5 Points B Bishop =3 Points N Knight = 3 Points P Pawn = 1 Point K King = The Game _(The king cannot be taken) Naturally, the position on the board is the true indication of the ab- solute value of a given piece at a given time. If your opponent has a Queen, a Rook, two Bishops and five Pawns, and you only have a RookAan“ Chess Basics es) 7 Bae and a Bishop, you are probably in big trouble. If it is your move, how- ever, and you have checkmate on the move, your five-point Rook and three-point Bishop are worth more at that moment than your oppo- nent’s nine-point Queen, five-point Rook, two three-point Bishops, and five one-point Pawns. At that moment, your eight points are worth more than his or her twenty-five points. Checkmate wins the game. The point values are only to help you decide whether or not to make a trade.Tactics Overview Tactics are the tricks and techniques chess players use to get a quick advantage over their opponents. We will begin with the most basic ideas, and gradually grow from there. Tactics can be found when: 1. There are loose pieces (pieces that are unprotected); 2. Pieces are poorly guarded; 3. Pieces are lined up on ranks, files, or diagonals in ways that expose them to attack; 4. The King is exposed or is in some way vulnerable. When you see any of those situations on the board, look for tactics! If none of those conditions exist, there probably aren't any tactical shots. 8Vaz Tactics Overview les) 9 The tactics we are going to examine in this book are: En Prise (pronounced “ahn preez”) If you can take a piece for free, we say the piece is en prise. If a piece is en prise, it is under attack and not protected. Take a More Important Piece If you can trade pieces, but the one you will take is worth more than the one you will lose, you get a material advantage. For example, let's say you can take a Rook with your Bishop, but you will lose the Bishop. You are taking a more important piece than you are losing, thereby getting an advantage in material. More (or Better) Attackers than Defenders The idea here is to attack something more times than it is defended. If you attack something three times and it is only guarded twice, you can get it. A similar idea is when something is defended by more important pieces than those attacking. An interesting point to make here is that often a less important a piece is a better defender than a more impor- tant one. For example, if a Bishop is attacked by a Knight and Rook, but defended by the King and Queen, the Bishop is in trouble. Al- though the defenders equal the attackers in number, neither defender can risk being taken. Either the Knight or the Rook could take the Bishop with impunity. Fork A Fork in chess occurs when one unit attacks two or more enemy units. A fork is sometimes referred to as a double attack, although the term double attack can also have a much broader meaning. All the pieces can fork, but the Queen and Knight, attacking in eight different directions, are the best pieces to fork enemy units.10 )| The Chess Kid's Book of Tactics Pin A Pin occurs when a long range piece—Queen, Rook, or Bishop—at- tacks an enemy unit, and if the enemy unit were to move, there would be an attack on a more important piece behind it. A pin against the King is called an Absolute Pin, because the pinned piece is forbidden to move. If it were to try, the King would be in check. Since you can never make a move that puts your King in check, it is against the rules to move a piece that is pinned to the King. All other pins are Relative Pins. It may not be a good idea to move the piece held by a relative pin, but it isn't against the rules. Skewer A Skewer is like a Pin, except that instead of attacking a weaker piece in front of a more important one, the more important piece is in front. When the more important piece moves away to escape the attack, the piece behind it can be taken. If the pieces under attack are of equal value, say two Knights, that is also a skewer. Discovery A Discovery is like the Pin and Skewer, except that instead of an enemy unit between your long-range attacker and the enemy target, your own piece is blocking the attack. In a discovery, you move your blocking piece out of the way, revealing an attack from the long-range piece behind it. Naturally, you would like to do as much damage as possible with the moving piece. If you can attack something else with the moving piece, then you have two attacks at once. Frequently, your opponent will have to give up something. Double Check A Double Check is a very forcing kind of discovery. One piece moves away, revealing a check on the enemy King. However, the moving piece also gives check. When the King is in check from two directions, it mustZA Tactics Overview eo) 11 move to escape. Capturing or blocking one check still leaves the other in force. In some situations the King can move out of one check by taking the other unit that is attacking, but even in this case, the King must move. A double check freezes the entire army while the King makes a move to escape from both attackers. Removing the Guard, Overload, and Deflecting These are all ways of diverting a piece from its task. Each of these has a slightly different meaning, but they all have to do with making an enemy piece leave a protective post, or possibly taking advantage of the fact that it cannot leave a protective post. If you can make the protect- ing piece leave, whether by taking it (removing the guard), forcing it to take one of your pieces (overload), or chasing it away (deflecting), you can then get the piece it was guarding. Removing the Guard Removing the Guard simply has to do with taking a piece that is guard- ing something else that you can also take. If you first knock off the guard, then there is nothing protecting the treasure. Take the guard, then take the treasure. Overload Overload is also called an Overworked Piece, which means one piece that is doing the work of two. Overload and Removing the Guard are also forms of Undermining. Deflecting In a Deflection you chase a piece away from an important defensive post. You can do this by either attacking it to make it move away, or by forcing it to take one of your pieces. In accepting your sacrifice, a piece will have been deflected away from its original position, and you can then take advantage of its absence. Some writers call this idea Distrac- tion or Driving Away.12 The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Decoy Sometimes you want an enemy piece to move to a new square so you can do something to it in its new location. The technique we use for this is called the decoy. Other terms for the same idea are Driving On, At- traction and Luring. Some authorities use the term decoy only as an endgame term, where one side has an outside passed Pawn that is sacri- ficed to lure the opposing King away from the main body of Pawns on the other side of the board. However, Maxim Bloch and Yasser Seirawan, in their excellent book on tactics (7he Art of Combination, 1997), use the term as it is used here. Trapping If a piece has no safe moves, it is trapped. Attack it and take it. Make the Right Capture Making the best capture when you have a choice of taking two (or more) different pieces can mean the difference between winning and losing the game. There are many times when a young chess player threatens an enemy piece, and the opponent makes a move that allows the piece to be taken. Your opponent's moves make a big difference in the position on the board. Sometimes the opponent simply made a mistake, and you can now get the piece you attacked first for free. But sometimes it’s not a mistake. Sometimes it’s a trap, and if you go for the first piece, when the trap springs shut, you will come out behind. When you have choices to make about capturing, make sure you choose the right one. If you choose the wrong one, you can come out way behind. Forewarned is forearmed. In the words of a great teacher, National Master Doug Bellizzi, “Consider every capture.” Many young players play too fast to do that. This is not a tactic you will find in most books: The special chapter on capturing in this book is included to show some typical mistakes a young player can make, and to show why these mistakes were made.Tactics Overview Attack In chess, attack means that one piece is in position to capture an enemy piece on the next move. In the diagram below, for example, the White Bishop on f1 could move to c4 to attack the Black Rook. This is a bit different from the normal use of the word. In common usage, if we say one person attacked another we mean that there was actual contact between the two. In chess, attack means to threaten contact. ae mata" s Vi, Vi Ae a a Ne ae RN wR UDA @ Capture A Capture is when the threatened attack is carried out. So if the Rook doesn’t move, White will take the Rook. A Note on Terminology The terms we use in this book are fairly standard, but tnere are occa- sional disagreements about the precise meanings. For example, if one piece is protecting another, and you drive it away, you have performed a tactic we call deflecting. Someone else may well argue that the guard has been chased away, and call this removing the guard. What is im- portant here is that, regardless of what they call it, both players would certainly agree on what move to make in the position. They may each use a different term, but they clearly agree on the move.En Prise (Take a piece or pawn for free.) what’s the big idea? 14 If you are attacking a piece or pawn that your opponent has left unguarded, you can simply take it. It’s free. There are no tricks or traps in the position. If there were tricks or traps, and you would pay a price for the capture, then it is not en prise.En Prise jes) 15 In the diagram below, White has an easy capture. The unguarded Black Bishop on f7 is under attack from the White Rook on f3. With White to move, the Rook can simply swoop down and capture the Bishop. The Bishop is en prise. — ws *s NS oe “Wy nthe Zi WY = NV -s “a, a TW oe “ ane mt Yi, a a ae d tA D200 WY BNW KR UW DAN © .. White to Move Chess players need to look at the whole board. We need to know where every piece is and what each can do before we make a decision about what to move. 1. Find the piece that is attacking an unguarded piece. Q. Take the unguarded piece.ee The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics En Prise Puzzles \ Vy me 429), _ nate a= ms ata" a UY a Sb a Be oe 1. White to Move 2. Black to Move \ w' .. \ \ a 'N “s_ \ . \ oe “ aa a 2.8 ao" “ ‘a ale ae Vi BNW HUAN N Ha = Ll it ab cde fo hh 3. Black to Move 4. Black to Move answers: 1.1.64. The Knight is gurced by the Pawn, 2. 1. ... Kxe5. The Rook is guarded by the Knight. 3. 1. ... 05. Notice that 1 ... Rid is not free: the Knight takes back on d4; that's a simple trade that also loses the Pawn after 2. Nxdl4-+ and 3. Nxb6. 4,1... 06+.En Prise |) 17 En Prise Puzzles “a “ @ “oe .. (|Z ZZ st "at — “@| ‘FAW e a aan ‘el | ‘1B Gig g msi UD IGFZAZGe A. ‘Fats stat V el 3 am ne fs 2 Yj} Yj a bc d 6 fob 5. White to Move ab G de Fog hh 6. Black to Move 7 ce «6 s 8 mel a 7 : an 6 es RX Oe 5 4 A 4 a Hae 3 ‘ Ca 8 em 2 @ bc dc ft eh 7. White to Move answers: 5. 1.cxd5. 6.1... Bxht. 7. 1.Nxe7. 8. 1... x96. 8. Black to MoveZee 18 |G) The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Z| HRW RUA @ EN WRU DAA © En Prise Puzzles 8 7 6 5 Py Catese C3 2 7 : £F, oils 17 ee Ze Ae coo q. White to Move 10. Black to Move a 8 A. UY, 74, “a an o «| # "wa ae aa a Ay aoe ca a Zi z 1 ab cd e« f ¢ oh @ bic de fo fh ni. White to Move 12. Black to Move 9. 1. Kxf3. The Bishop and Pawn protect each other. Taking either with the King is legal 10. 1. ... Bx 11. 1. Qxb7. 12. 1... Rxc3PNW hk Uw? © Ew RUD Nw answers: ss 8] Ui, la. : ay YZ, ‘(| Y9 FY 6 as ‘A ‘| YY 3 = 1 N W WY nue Y Y i, i a abc de — @ a 49b cd cf ¢ h 13. Black to Move 14. Black to Move — = i ati fae Fol aa rm a Gren BNW RUA w abedefgh 15. White to Move 16. White to Move 13. 1... Qrb2 14.1... gxh4. 15. 1. Bxa8 16. 1. Nxd8.20 The Chess Kid's Book of Tactics games featuring En Prise Game 1 “ 1. e4 es 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Ng5? QxNg5 Oops. Down a Knight with nothing to show for it. This situation has occurred countless times in the games of students. White's third move, in addition to giving a piece away, is also a viola- tion of an important opening principle: unless you have a very good rea- son, don’t move the same piece twice in the opening. Why move a piece twice when you could use that second move to get out another piece? Then you would have two in the field instead of just one. Another thing wrong with White's third move is that it sends a sin- gle piece charging into enemy territory with no support. What was the Knight going to do, take on the whole Black army alone? You will hear that it is not good to bring out the Queen early, but if your opponent wants to give you a Knight, bringing out the Queen to take it is clearly a good idea. There are a lot of exceptions to the gen- eral principles. Game 2 Center Game 1. e4 es 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4 Nc6 4, Nc3?? NxQd4 Oh! Again, from a student game, this is another case of chess blindness. White didn’t notice that his Queen was under attack! He simply left the Queen en prise. :En Prise | 21 Game 3 Two Knights Defense 1. e4 e5 2. NFS Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6é 4, d3 d5 This is a little risky. White is ready to castle, and Black is not. Opening the center usually favors the side with the safer King. 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. 0-0 Bc5S Te ket Black notices the e5-Pawn is hit twice and only guarded once. She doesn’t want to play 7. ... f3, exposing her King to a possible diagonal attack later, so she backs up the Bishop. 7. Bdé But that blocks the queen's protection of the d5-Knight. She left it en prise. 8. BxNd5Take a More Important Piece (Get more points than you lose) what’s the big idea? If you trade pieces, but the one you take is more important than the one you will lose, you will get a material advantage. 22aI Take a More Important Piece ie) 23 Let's say you are attacking a Rook with your Knight, but if you take the Rook, your opponent can take your Knight. Should you take the Rook? Certainly! The Knight is worth three points, and the Rook is worth five. You will come out two points ahead. This is your material advantage. In the diagram below, what piece can Black capture that is more im- portant than the piece he will lose? “What to Doo 4 1. Find a piece that is under attack. us 2. Determine the relative values of the pieces. 3. If the piece under attack is worth more than the attacking piece, you can make the capture and gain a material advantage. Wow 4t It’s not the pawn on a3. The Bishop is worth more than the Pawn. It’s not the Knight on d4, because Knights and Bishops are about the same value (3 points). Take the Queen (9 points)! Even though you lose the Rook (5 points), you get a more important piece than the one you lose. You just gained a material advantage.a4 The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Take a More Important Piece BN wR UDA & PN wR UW DY © ab oc de (6 h abedefgh 1. White to Move 2. White to Move a bcd ¢ f& 6 i 3. Black to Move 4. Black to Move answers: 4.1 Nxf6+, 2. 1. Bxf6. 3. 1.... dxed. eeZe Take a More Important Piece |(¥)} 25 Take a More Important Piece PN RUAN Ow abcecdefgh 6. Black to Move ami maPatan a ~t a zg @ ab c def oh 7. White to Move 8. White to Move a ede RN wR UD w answers: 2 ee 6. 7... Bed. 7. 1. Bxa8. 8. 1. Nxd7.26 { The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Take a More Important Piece 8 8 7 74 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 j Ze OS 1 j , a boc d 6 f 6 ih oc ee q. Black to Move 10. White to Move 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 i ) i peo} abc dg ¢ ff GG a bec dc f 6 h Ti. White to Move 12. White to Move answers: ee 9 1... dxc3. 10. 1, Bxa. 11. 1. exf6. 12. 1. Bxa5 or fxe4, BxaS is MUCH better—always look for a better move.ee Take a More Important Piece ie 27 game featuring Taking a More Important Piece Game 4 Scandinavian Defense (or Center Counter) 1. 8. oo, Gre to e4 exd5 Nc3 Nf3 BeQ Bxf3 Bxo7 Bxa8 ds Qxd5 Qds Bg4 Bxf3 Nf6é Nd7 Qxa8 White gets a Rook and Pawn for her Bishop.More (or Better) Attackers than Defenders (Attack something more times than it is defended) what’s the big idea? The idea here is to attack something more times than it is defended, or to attack with forces that cannot be taken by the defenders because of the difference in value. 28aI More (or Better) Attackers than Defenders @ 29 YA In the diagram below we show two examples (not from a real game; there is no Black King). On the Kingside, the two White Rooks attack the Black Knight on g8. It is only guarded once, by the Rook on f8. The attackers win because there are more of them. Two against one is usu- ally bad for the one. A similar idea occurs when something is defended by more impor- tant pieces than those attacking. On the Queenside, the number of at- tackers is the same as the number of defenders, but the quality is very different. When Black takes the Knight with either the Rook or the Pawn, White cannot take back with the King, since that would be check, and should not take back with the Queen, since that results in a big material loss. The attackers win, because the defenders are worth more than the attackers. 8| Wy “I 1. Count the number of attackers; 2. Count the number of defenders; 3. Determine the relative values of the attackers and defenders. Vw RUD To be successful, it takes one more attacker than there are defenders, or weaker attackers than defenders.ere 30 |G) The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics 7 PNW RUAN Ow BNW RUD I @ More (or Better) Attackers than Defenders 37/2 = ate — “ea re o a. ae a: a, A oo Y PN UR UA YO Z S| oa vac aeen 1. White to Move 2. White to Move 7 nw = Vi 6 q ae 5 4 3 2 ( 1 ab ce de f oh a bec de f oh 3. Black to Move 4. Black to Move answers 1. Two attackers and one defender. 1. Bxd6, Bxd6; 2. Rxd6, White wins a Knight. Notice the Bishop cap- tured first. In cases of a sequence of captures, you usually want to lead with the lower value units frst. The first piece in will probably get taken, so you want to lead with a less valuabie unit. 2. Two attackers and one defender. 1. Rxe3+, Rxe8; 2. Rxe8+. White wins a Rook. 3. Three attackers and two defenders. 1. ... Nxd4; 2. cxdl4, Bxd4; 3. Bxd4, Qxd4. Black wins a Pawn. 4. In this puzzle, there are two attackers and two defenders, but the defenders are too important to de- fend! 1. ... Pxf3, and White is unable to recapture. 2. Qxf3 loses the Queen, and Kxf3 is illegal. For extra fun, figure out what White might do here, and tow Black would respond. (1. ... Bxf3+ also works, but tak- ing with the Rook is better. In this case, we didn’t lead with the lower unit first because White isn't going to recapture anyway, and we want the discovery when the Rook moves—see page 83)ENO RU aA & PNW RU DAN More (or Better) Attackers than Defenders | 2 More (or Better) Attackers than Defenders _) ee a G2 Hanne oie tie ‘<7 © sa abcde su 3 0 5. Black to Move a boc de r gh 6. White to Move an ie abedefgh 7. White to Move answers: a bc d ¢ f of 8. Black to Move 5. 1. ...Nxf4 or .... exf4. Both work. The f4-Pawn is attacked four times and only defended three times. In addition, three of the attackers are a Pawn and two minor pieces, whereas only one defender is a minor piece. This is very bad for the defender (White). 6. 1. Rxd8 is best. There is another place where the attackers outnumber the defenders (c6) but that only wins a Pawn. If you find e good move, look for a better one. The good one will stil be there later if you can't find anything better 7. 1. BxgB. The Bishop is protected by the Queen, so the Rook should not take back. 8B. 1. ... Nxd4 wins a Pawn after 2. exd4, Qxd4.32 S The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics 7 More (or Better) Attackers than Defenders BS ee a Ss oo coe a “si EU a & abc de f Gh q. White to Move 10. White to Move EZ Wave 2i® (18t ag ae oo 4 @ Mi ee 8 @ ULI RUS a RN WAR UD © “a, BNW RUA I © eb oc de f 6h ab cd ¢ fo fh 1. Black to Move 12. Black to Move answers: 9. 1. Bxc6 oF 1. Qxc. 10. 1. Gxe8+, Nxe8; 2. Rxe8#. On the previous move, Black thoughtlessly played Re8, attacking the Queen, not realizing that the White Rook on e1 was backing up the Queen. One bad move threw away a Clear win. Note also that this exchange is not about points, i's about winning the game. Black gets nine points for the Queen and only loses eight points for the Rook and Knight. Black may have picked up a point, but he lost the game. 14. 1. ... QxeT+ wins the Rook. The King can't take back because of the Knight's protection. 1. ... NxeT also works, butts not as good. After Qxel +, when the King escapes to 2, Black can pick off the Knight or the other Rook 19. 1... Qxe1 + wins the Rook. If. Qxe!, Rxel +, then Black is a Rook ahead,More (or Better) Attackers than Defenders |¢ 33 games featuring More (cr Better) Attackers Than Defenders Game 5 Scotch Game 1. e4 e5 2. NPB Nc6 3. d4 eSxd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5S 5. Be3 aie 6. Nc3 White didn’t notice that Black’s last move added a third attacker to the Knight on d4. 6. Nxd4 wins a piece. Game 6 Petroff Defense 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nfé 3. NxeS dé 4, Nf Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. 0-0 Bg4 8. Rel Nxd4 9. Bxe4 dxe4 Suddenly White has two attackers on the Knight at d4, Further, the center is opening up when the Black King is still stuck in the middle of the last rank, while White's King is safely castled. Even though White’s Queenside is still undeveloped, the battle is in the center, where White has an overwhelming advantage. 10. Qxd4eyed 34 1) The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Le White wins a piece. If 10. ... QxQd4, 11. NxQd4 and White is still up a piece. If 10. ...BxNf3; then 11. QxQd8+, RxQd8; 12. 32xBf3, and White is still up a piece, with a threat to the pinned pawn on e4 to boot. Game 7 Max Lange Attack In this game, White doesn’t depend on an oversight by Black to get more attackers than defenders. This time it’s part of a well-thought-out plan. 1. e4 es 2. NPB Nc6 3. Bc4 BcS 4. 0-0 Nfé : 5. d4 eSxd4 6. 25 d5 7. e5xf6 d5xc4 8. Retl+ Kf8?_* (Be6 is the normal move here) 9. BgS 3xf6 10. BhO+ — Kg8 11. Nc3 Bg4 (d4xNc3; 12. Qxd8, Nxd8; 13. Re8+ and mate next move) 12. Ne4 Bo6 13. Qe2 Nes 14, Nxe5ll BxeQ 15. Nd7!! White now has two attackers on f6. White is only defending with the Queen, and there is no other piece that can come to the rescue. The game ends with a neat Bishop and Knight mate.Forks (One piece attacks two or more enemy pieces) what’s the big idea? If you attack two or more pieces at once, you have a good chance of getting one of them’. A fork is simply one piece or pawn moving to a square where it attacks two or more enemy units. Every piece, including the King, can fork. 3536 The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics In the diagram below, there are three forks: 1. the White Knight on b6 is forking the Rook on a8 and the King on ¢8; 2. the Black Pawn on g6 is forking the Rooks on f5 and h5; 3. the White King on c2 is forking the Knight on b3 and the Bishop on c3. fen a ~ i are “oa 8 Seas ne a a ab cc de ft 3 PNW RW DAN © ae me oe e What to Do 1. Know the locations and capabilities of all your pieces. 2. Look for two or more enemy pieces that can be attacked at the same time. This calls for a higher level of skill than what we have seen so far. You must be aole to recognize the ways lines of attack come together. Each piece has its own special lines of attack. The Fork is one of the most enjoyable tactics to use against your op- ponent. Although all of the pieces can make a fork, two are more ef- fective than the others. The Queen, attacking at long range in eight directions, is especially dangerous. The Knight, also attacking in eight directions, is the other piece that is very effective at forking. A special advantage of the Knight is that when a Knight attacks other pieces, they cannot attack back!Forks @ 37 Find All the Forks The QUEEN is the most powerful piece on the board. In the diagram below, you can see the marvelous attacking power of the Queen. The Black Queen has six forks that are safe. Find all six of the Black Queen's forks (the ones where she can be taken—a1, d8, e5, and e7— don’t count). Each of the squares listed in the answer has lines of attack to two or more pieces. RN WwW RU DN a BONUS: Did you notice that with Black to move there is a knight fork on e8? answers: Qc6 Qc3 Qd6+ fa + QA+ “Ohh38 BNW RUAN w BNO RU DAN © The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Queen Fork Puzzles VU, oe ae He ae ee Ss Wa Ui, Us a ‘a a a a 72 nae Move ° ° Tem a" 6 ange ota D ae a . 2s Ze “ WS , we e a aan o Ten “6 @ a an at a i a ee a aoe al a W DOW w abc dc fe i 2. Black to Move a ee J Vi, Vaud a ‘eC a4e zi ta as i a bc de ae gh 3. Black to Move answers: 1. 1. ... Q01+ forks the King and Rook. 2. 1. ... Qa1+ forks the King and Rook. 3. 1... Qf2+ forks the King and Rook. abe — e ee g 7 4. Black to Move 4. 1... Qe2+ forks the King and Rook. Naturally you would not want play 1. ... Qh5+, since that loses the Queen to 2. RxhS.BEN wR UD Ow 7 Forks SS 39 Queen Fork Puzzles 7 2 ee a aa aaa a oe a a. 28 a sae Y 7777 CC 5. Black to Move. Two Solutions. a ae a a oe ea a oa aa abc d e¢ tf 2 h 7. Black to Move. Five Solutions. answers: 5. 1....Qo1+ and 1.... Qg4+. abc d <¢ ft 6 ih 6. Black to Move. Five Solutions. ge a emo Vg L,,_ fll, awe HN wR UW © ab ¢ d e¢ f oh 8. Black to Move. Five Solutions. 6.1... QCT+ 1. ... QQ7+ 1... QeS+ 1. ... Qe3+ and 1. ... Qe1+. (1. ... Qa3+ is a Skewer See page 76) Tei QOD4 1. 1, QO6+ 1... Gdd+ 1... QF4+ and 1. ... Qh4+. (1. ... QfB isa Pin. See page 56) 8.1... O24 1... Qg2+ 1... edt 1... Qeb+ and 1. ... QeB+. (1. ... Gab is a Pin, See page 56.)ae 40 [G9] The Chess Kid's Book of Tactics ee Knight Forks On this page we show the six fundamental positions for a Knight fork when a Knight attacks two enemy pieces. These are the basic patterns for the Knight fork. You want to learn these well, so you can spot them in your games, even when there are a lot of other pieces on the board. Ey age. oo a anata a fe a al Ss oe Zi wae PNW RUD O&O ee BEN WRU DY © =e a a -— a “2 me ae aa am a ase one “af Aina ae aa ‘« Mom a ee ae eae “a 5 —— on BNW RU AY © RN wR UD SN © WY ms _ x N ee Vi, ta, Se ha pata ats apa TS soe 8 ae be cedge at ee ehKnight Forks ZZ Forks |f A The six positions given on the previous page have many variations. For example, the very first pattern can be shown in four different ways. They are just mirror images of the first basic pattern. (a a “oo IO Oa Pe § Gs, ‘i Ya, ata -" “a ate BEN w RUD ~a w ——— a <2 8) ae ae ae ie aaa Uy, 22s a c et Or ol oy GD oe a at @ bc dg 6 ft 3 ole ‘a oo i.e a 8 OD 2 1 a = “ul a Mi, bl, oO “« V7. 4, . —. Ui. Vi Z7aoe Se me a eee PNW RUAN & ess: aa bcd ee Good chess players recognize these patterns instantly, because they ‘Aave seen them and practiced them hundreds and thousands of times. See if you can spot the patterns of the Knight fork on the next pages. If ou have difficulty, go back and review the six basic patterns.BEN wR WAY © answers: A The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics A Knight Fork Puzzles 8. Ui, l,l, rata ‘| a ae a “oe ‘i a ot Os 5 DI) ‘| Y GY2EID) aaa a ~ . es 2 ‘a ; aoe “2 Pgh a bec de) fs hy abc def oh q. White to Move 10. White to Move J Te Ps Vs a, ae oa a atten a a. ] oo V, a Z 2 “s Uj, aes ae a “s ono UT oe nao “es 6 8 cE Se ni. White to Move 12. White to Move 9. 1.NGS+ fons the King and Queen, 10. 1. Ni6+ forks the King and Queen. 14. 1. NdS+ forks the King and Queen 12. 1. Ne5+ forks the King and Queenanswers: Forks Knight Fork Puzzles Cf i a at a -_ i ie a oa man me ‘an “a ae i ne Spe dec fen a 13. Black to Move as a oe =" Vi, i, Ma, Cd, Ga rY Le oo Yj ot ooo abcecdefgh 14. Black to Move BNO RUDRA ae Vi Fe ate ia gon a's aa i 15. Black to Move 13. 1, ...Ng3+ forks the King and Queen. 14. 1, ... NO6+ forks the King and Queen 15. 1,... Ne6+ forks the King and Queen. 16. 1... Ne5+ forks the King and Queen. @ boc d « . gh 16. Black to Move| The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Rook, Bishop, King, and Pawn Forks Rooks like to see enemy pieces lined up on the same Rank or File. Bish- ops can fork two enemy units that are lined up on the same diagonal. Ranks and files are the lines of attack for the rook. Diagonals are the lines of attack for the bishop. Lines of attack for the King and Pawn are much more limited. a “a 8 8 wreee” a ona Ca ae “oe cone a pea “ f a h Rook Fork Bishop Fork Kings want to see two unguarded pieces fairly close together. Pawns look for two pieces on the same Rank one File apart. ‘le tee ‘feteey ‘Pee ee: ‘em : a see i. a bec d 6 fg. h King Forks Pawn Fork On the next pages, we have mixed’ forks. They are randomly arranged, so any piece might be the one doing the fork. As the puzzles continue, we add more and more pieces, so you will become accus- tomed to spotting the patterns in a crowded field.we Ao + woot w Forks Fork Puzzles — 7 as “se a oC ame a “m “a "a: aa 8 ‘ee - aa ata" oy eae “cee (tos nn 17. White to Move ° 18. Black to Move ° as : Ee mem a a moe) aa at “a a i Ca gee 0 a a a ml a a a ow: Laie ooo mim a ae : 2 “OG: omc]: ca Se “o 12 e@e 2 abcde . gh 19. Black to Move answers: 17. 7.Rd5+ forts the King and Knight. 18. 1..... Bc3+ forks the King and Rook 19. 1... Qe5+ forks the King, Bishop, and Knight. a bc de | 6 h 20. White to Move 20. 1. Nxc7+ forks the King, Queen, and Rook (a Family Fork).46 PN wR UD NI © The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Fork Puzzles om oe sera a ae ede 4 gh 21. White to Move x ae a ae ae an oo eaten abcde — gh 22. Black to Move A ae oa mitra at be cade ofc ah 23. Black to Move answers: 21. 1. Kd forks the Bishop and Knight. 22. 1... Qh4+ forks the King and Bishop. 3. 1. ... C5 forks the Knight and Rook 24. 1. ....d5 forks the Bishop and Knight BNW RUAN Ow eee 24. Black to MoveEN wm UD PNW RUD YO Forks a Fork Puzzles 6 a be at 2m it A “@ = a a e "i ae a a, “oe “i os a boc de ft sh 25. Black to Move “~ Wo RY a “@ aaa at scene 7 PN wR UD © RN Ae Y Y b DY, a oa ab cod © f 6 h 26. White to Move on A mee i fl Ua, “i me fe a7b cdi ce fo 7h 27. White to Move answers: 25. 1. ... KO4 forks the Knight and Pawn. 26. 1. Kg6 forks the Knight and Rook. 27. 1. Bc3 forks the Rook and Knight. 98. 1. ... Rd2+ forks the King and Knight. abcde f @ h 28. Black to Move48 )| The Chess Kid's Book of Tactics Fork Puzzles 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 By Z Ze}. a ab cd <¢ fe hy 29. Black to Move 30. Black to Move 8 8 7 7 bad 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 ee , SO BN 1 Z abc de fg ih AE 31. Black to Move 32. Black to Move answers: 99. 1... NE3+ fom the King ‘cueen, ‘and Rook 30. 1. ... Nd3+ forks the King, Queen, and Bishop. (The next puzzle is ftom a different variation of the same opening.) 31. 1. ...Nd3+ forks the King, Queen, and Bishop. 32. 1. .... Ne4 forks the Rooks,49 8 rs 6 5 4 3 a i : a: nat a Bef 33. White to Move 34. Black to Move "ae i a hai “ 2 a “a8 | 1 Y ae a acs Jf 35. Black to Move 36. White to Move answers: 33. 1, Qg8+ forks the King and Rook. 34. 1. ... Rd forks the Knight on a2 and the Pawn on f2. 35. 1, ... Bd3 forks the Rook and Knight. 36. 1. Bxd5+ forks the King and Queen. 1. Qxd5+ is also a fork, but it forces a Queen trade, and you would rather trade your Bishop for your opponent's Queen.ba 50 @ 8 r 6 5 4 3 2 ni answers: BR wD RUD Ow The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Fork Puzzles @ bc de f co h 37. White to Move Box i 7 - "aaa an BNW RUD SIO Ey WwW RUA Tw abcd = f oh 38. Black to Move abcdefgh 39. White to Move 37. 1. 94+ forks the King and Knight. 38. 1. ... {5 forks the Queen and Knight. 39. 1. QhS+ forks the King and Bishop. 40. 1. ... Qc5+ forks the King and Knight. abedefgh 40. Black to MoveEscape from a Fork KS) 51 Forks This page shows variations on some of the previous puzzles. We have moved the pieces around a little so that the player caught in a fork has an escape. Four ways to escape are: a) move one unit so it protects the other [diagram 41] (solutions on next page) “a a ze. Pah, on : Ui, Wa, ‘« ‘aa =i abc dc: fof 4). Black to Move ea / “o ney 4 EN wm UA NY Ow 6) move one to a square that checks the op, King evades the check, you can escape with the onent, then when the second unit [42] 7 a ee GIT 7 ae a8 aa 5 a yy mans “e Z mea a bcd ¢ f 2 fh 42. Black to Movear 52 |G The Chess Kid's Book of Tactics Dem ¢) move one unit away and block the attack on the other [43] BNW RUD © abc d et © h 43. White to Move d) put a third unit in the skirmish that protects both of the pieces under attack [44]. otanis “2 a is “ee 8 Wrrag BNO RUA Ow 44. White to Move answers: 41. 1... Rb. The Rook gets away, and atthe same tme, guard the Kright 42. 1, .. Re1-+. The Rook checks the enemy King The King must escape from the check, and that gives the Knight time to run away from the attacking Bishop. 43.. 1 Nd. The Knight escapes from the Queen and blocks the check at the same time. 44, 1. Re2. The Rook steps up and guards both Pawns. The f2-Pawn is guarded directly, while the a9-Pawn is guarded by X-ray (guarded through the enemy Rook).I Forks SS 53 games featuring Forks Game 8 This is my favorite game for showing the power of the fork. It was played in 1903, between an amateur and a Master named Leonhardt. 1. e4 5 2. d4 e5xd4 3. Qxd4 Nc6 4. Qe3 Nf6 5. Bc4 NeS 6. Bo3 Bo4+ Normally we don't like to see this check, because White can simply stick a Pawn in the Bishop's face, and it will lose time having to move again, while White strengthens the center. However, as has often been noted, exceptions abound in chess, and recognizing when they occur is the mark of the master. Black’s idea here is to lure the c-Pawn forward so it will no longer guard d3. Every move, no matter how strong, cre- ates a weakness somewhere. Sometimes the weakness is irrelevant, but sometimes—as here—it matters a lot. 7. 3 BcS Black attacks the Queen with an unguarded Bishop. However, the Bishop is safe because if 8. Qxc5, Nd3+ forks the King and Queen. So 8. Qg3 White thinks his Queen is safe here. 8. Bxf2+! Another unguarded attack, and this time it’s a fork! The King and Queen are under attack. The Bishop must be taken, but no matter how he does it, White gets hit by a Knight fork. If 9. Kxf2, Nxe4+ wins the Queen If 9. Qxf2, then Nd3 does the job.54 > The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Gameo — : Reti Opening 1. c4 eS 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. 93 Nf6 4. Bg2 Bo4 5. Nd5 Nxd5 6. cxd5 Nd4 This is cute but dangerous. Crossing the frontier line with two loose pieces can be hazardous, as White demonstrates. 7 eS Nf5S 8. Qg4! Two loose pieces are no match for a Queen, especially on her side of the board. Game 10 Max Lange Attack 1. e4 es 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 e5xd4 4. Bc4 Bc5S 5. 0-0 Nf6 6. es d5 7. e5xf6 d5xc4 8. Rel+ Beé 9. NgS Qxf6? (Qd5 is better) 10. Nxe6 f7xe6 141. Qh5+ White forks the King on e8 and the Bishop on c5, winning a piece.Game 11 French Defense 1. e4 26 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4, Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Bd3 Nxe4 7. Bxe4 Nfé 8. Bd3 Be7 9, Qe2 0-0 10. BgS 66 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. Qed! This forks the Rook on a8 and the Pawn on h7, with the added kicker that taking the Pawn on h7 is mate. Game 12 Two Knights Defense Finally, for the fork, we have a game that has been played a gazillion times by scholastic players. 1. e4 e5 2. NPB Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6é 4, Nc3 Nxe4 White thinks Black has lost his chart on piece values. Why is he giv- ing up a Knight for a Pawn? 5. Nxe4 d5! Oh. White will have to give up one of his minor pieces. Looks like he didn’t win a Knight for a Pawn after all. This is called the Center Fork Trick. It doesn’t win material, but it does give Black at least an even game after only five moves.Pin (Hold an enemy piece in place) what’s the big idea? 56 A Pin keeps a piece from moving. A piece that can't move has lost its power. A Pin occurs when a Rook, Bishop, or Queen attacks an enemy piece, and if that piece were to move, there would be an attack on another piece behind it.8 "What to Do “» Y, 5 ‘a i 1. Look for enemy 6 Y, i “@ “yy pieces lined up on the ‘fil Mam | Soon : a ee Q. Find one of your : Ma Va ‘o “« pieces that can attack : am W 7 “9 the front piece and, 1 “yy Y “y @ attacking through it abcedefgh like an X-ray, hit the second piece. 3. Attack! Pieces that can Pin Only the Queen, Rook, and Bishop can Pin. These are the three long-range pieces, those that can travel across the whole board in one move. Their ability to attack along an entire rank, file, or diagonal gives these three pieces the power to Pin. NOTE: The pin, skewer, and discovery are all based on the same idea. The big difference is that in a discovery, the middle piece is on the same side as the attacker. In the diagram above, we can easily see that the Rook on d2 attacks the enemy Knight on d5, and that if the Knight were to move, the Black King on d8 would be under attack. This is called an Absolute Pin, because the pin is against the King. Moving out of an Absolute Pin is illegal, since it puts the King in check. A Relative Pin is a pin against any piece other than the King.58 The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics pee vt _e_ a ee at a ae oS al tes Ooo: ae PNW RUD NI © In this diagram, the Bishop on f3 attacks the enemy Knight on d5. If the Knight were to move, the Black Queen on a8 would be under attack. The Knight is PINNED to the Queen. This is called a Relative Pin, because it is not illegal to move the Knight. In this position, moving the Knight is not a good idea, but it doesn't break the rules. Pins are a very important and complicated part of chess. We are going to look at five ideas in this section: 1. Find the Pin. 2. Piling On the Pinned Piece. Since a pinned piece can't (or shouldn't) move, a good thing to do is to attack it again. We call this “piling on.” 3. A Pinned Piece Does Not Protect. A pinned piece, having lost the power to move, is often not effective in protecting other pieces. 4, Illusory Pins. Sometimes a pinned piece does protect. To make that point, we have included a couple of famous examples when a pinned unit wi? move, allowing the loss of the queen. 5. Escape from a pin. Not all pins render the piece powerless. Some- times there is a clever way to escape.tw was oN ob Pin i 59 Find the Pin Bishop Pins: Find the enemy pieces lined up on a DIAGONAL. “gg Ss 5 8 “3 j, Vv x -. 7, Ua - W, ae m “a eee Dy Sa» a _s 5 a Wi, a, ams a 4 aoe, UT atte fe fa “oes ee eee BN wh UD Fw a bc de Fgh 1. White to Move “8 oS “» A i a A, oo at” U), “i “€ “a 0 8m ee an a i c A e = gh 3. Black to Move answers: 1. 1. Bd pins the Rook to the King. 2. 1. 8g4 pins the Rook to the King. 3. 1. ....Bg6 pins the Knight to the King 4. 1. ... Bc6 pins the Queen to the King, BNO RUA @ abcecdefgh 2. White to Move Ag MS a 2. — as as “ae Me a 2. = a mom “o a6 ee UW 7 72 abcedefgh 4. Black to Move aaae 60 S The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Ca Find the Pin Rook Pins: Find the enemy pieces lined up on a RANK or FILE. Bes am ao a “e A, =a a. a. 4, a @ a bc ca ef 2 hl 5. Black to Move ]. White to Move answers: 5. 1... RG7 pins the Bishop to the King. 6. 1. ... Red pins the Knight to the King 7. 1. ROS pins the Pawn to the King. 8. 1. Red pins the Queen to the King. RN wR UW DN & HN WwW RU DA Ow ae se fatatat a8 a a ee "aa “coo abc de f 2 fh 6. Black to Move Vi, U0, fae 2 eae a “a 8 8 eae ane “a a & oe abc de ft 2 fh 8. White to MovePin SS 61- Find the Pin Queen Pins: Find the enemy pieces lined up on a RANK, FILE, or DIAGONAL. Vi, i — oe — i a 5 VU aa "i. a a - “a — oe UY, Z om \ —_ a ons PNK RUAN @ a bc de fo gh q. White to Move VU) “» 27, a _s ee wld i €L, @ bcd ¢ fe h 10. Black to Move Yi, ae ae a i a a “a “fe oo a a — mana A = PNW RUD? NY Ow eb ce def = h Ti. Black to Move 9. 1. Qb3 pins the Pawn to the King. 10. 1. ... Qc5 pins the Knight to the King. 11. 1. ... Qe6 pins the Knight to the King. 12. 1. Qg1 pins the Knight to the Rook. BNW RU DAY Ow i .62 RN wR WDA © The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Find the Pin "ee “ ane ne a A c Be © 6 fh 13. White to Move abc ad ce) 15. White to Move answers: 13. 1. Bad pins the Queen to the King. 14. 1. ... Be4 pins the Knight to the Rook. 15, 1. Rel pins the Queen to the King 16. 1. ... Qa pins the Bishop to the King. PNW RUAaA TO BR wW RUA O&O of Be anata” aaats ie gs * i oS \ aa \ a ys .. \ ". wBe < a! _s -s eT tr \ ioe VN a boc d © fo i 14. Black to Move Y oe a Ys aoa mae abe .. e . gh 16. Black to MovePiling on the Pinned Piece 63 Since a pinned piece either can’t or shouldn't move, it is a stationary tar- get. If it is already protected, attack it again! We call this “Piling on the Pinned Piece.” In these puzzles, the pin is already set up. You just have xo find the way to pile on. eo de w 1 EN wh UD a a a 2 aon a pas tae es aa a a @ be de f 3 i 17. Black to Move a bc de 7 gh 18. White to Move E77 aa arm 4, 3 sata a ae eae g WRT a moet “a a 8 Ze a a mie a 8 Nw wR UAT © Ui, m3) Pap hE KX abcdefgh 19. Black to Move answers: 17. 1. ... 04, piling the pinned Knight. Ve 8 20. Black to Move 18. 1. Nf4, piling on the pinned Bishop. Nc3 just loses the Knight to the Rook on c8. 19. 1. ... 65, pling on the pinned Knight. 20. 1. ... Kc5, piling on the pinned Rook.Piling on the Pinned Piece 64 I) The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Bread « { so 8 g ey ie = ‘ v= ig ce NK as Ne 8 i2 ° 2 @ wan a oz |e g Se ie 3 i2a2 ieee s {S254 . feegee ,aBea9 v ow igce28 ay ‘ > fasesocem-: furl ws : z a eS : z slgeng° ws Sw Se a a fet ey = ree 8 7 6 5 4 3 ae 1 8 Z 6 5 4 3 2 1Pin 65 Pin a Piece That Is Already Under Attack In these puzzles, a piece or Pawn is attacked once and guarded once. Find a way to pin the unit that is al can't move away, and then you ready under attack. Once it is pinned, it may be able to take it on the next move. HNO RUAN @ aaomse | *h ow fs aaa [mse sa tee am ate ‘ba mer ae a .. c a e 2 gh 25. White to Move ab oc d ¢ f sh 26. Black to Move 6 ‘Ba at w 5 aa a "e020 @ bc de f 5 hy 27. Black to Move _answers: PNW RUAN © ( a — YQ 6 f Got a bcecdefgh 28. Black to Move 25. 1. Rc1 pins the Knight on c7 that is akeedy atteced by the Bishop c on 8 26.1 ee oe RdB8 pins the Pawn on di that is already attacked by the Pawn on e6. R08 pins the Knight on b4 that is already attacked by the Queen on hé. BdS pins the Knight on f3 that is already attacked by the Rook on £7.66 )| The Chess Kid's Book of Tactics A Pinned Piece Does Not Protect If a piece is pinned, it may have difficulty fulfilling its function as a pro- tector or guardian of another piece. In diagram 29, for example, the Pawn on g2 seems to be guarding the Pawn on h3. Unfortunately for White, Black’s Rook on g8 pins the g2 Pawn. That means nothing is re- ally guarding the Pawn on h3. HER w RU DO a . c au ef oo 29. Black to Move @ic ff PNW RU AY w Hy wR UD © abcedefgh abcecdefgh 31. Black to Move 32. White to Move answers: 29. 1. .... Bxh3. The Pawn on 2 is pinned by the Rook on g8. 30. 1. RxbS. The Pawn on a6 is pinned to the Rook on 38. 31. 1... Cxh3 +. The Pawn on g2is pinned by the Bishop on cb. Play continues with 2. Kgl, Cxga#. 32. 1. Qxf6z. The Knight is pinned by the Rook on 28Pe Oe uo. a iw BN wm Pin (BO A Pinned Piece Does Not Protect “e “fo yma ioe ait “ee RN WAU DAN © “sy ae oat . ‘a \ ae a a p> be ab ct ce _ gh 33. Black to Move + dies ae a gaan a ant ar ee be @ bc d 6 ft ooh 35. White to Move answers: NC SC @ bc d ef oa 36. White to Move 33. 1. ... QxgS+. The Bishop is pinned, so it can't take the Queen. Even worse, this is a check, so White can't even save the Bishop. Black gets two pieces. 34. 1. Rd. Black can't take with the Knight because the Knight is pinned to f8. If the Knight recap- tures, White gets a checkmate. This puzzle shows that a piece can be pinned against an empty square. 35. 1. Bxe4. The Pawn is pinned to a checkmate square again. 36. 1. Nxo4. The c5-Pawn is pinned to the Rook on a7. White wins a Pawn,ee 68 ee The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics y, Illusory Pins: When a Pinned Piece Really Does Attack or Protect BNW RW DAN This famous position is from a game played by a man named Legal and dates from around 1750. The moves are: 1. e4 25 2. NFS d6 3. Bcd Bg4 4, Nc3 36 Everyone can see that the f3-Knight is pinned. Moving it can mear. the loss of the Queen. Legal shocked his opponent by playing 5. Nxe5! His opponent thinking this was a terrible blunder, greedily snatched the Queen with 5. Bxd1 Why did Legal offer up his Queen?And now came the surprise: aD ¢ d e¢ f ¢ i 6. Bxf7+, Ke7 (the only move) 7. Nd5# (See next diagram) ab ¢ d e€ Ff os i The final position after 7. NdS# i the Knight wasn't very effective. The pin o70 |G) The Chess Kid's Book of Tactics Co Illusory Pins: When a Pinned Piece Really Does Attack or Protect. an ~ ow PNW KW This again is a famous position, this time from the Queen's Gambit Declined. The position occurs after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 26 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 N(o)d7 An inexperienced White player may think he can win a Pawn and louse up Black’s center with 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Nxd5 and the Black Knight on f6, being pinned, can't recapture. White gets a rude jolt when Black moves the pinned Knight: 6. ... Nxd5!, exposing his Queen to an attack. 7. Bxd8. See the next diagram.Why did Black deliberately offer up the Queen? BN wR UD? NO a Dc de fo iy Because after 7. ... Bo4+, White loses his Queen, too. 8. Qd2 (the only move), Bxd2+; 9. Kxd2, Kxd8, Black is up a piece. The pin on the f6 Knight was illusory.Lao 72 |G] The Chess Kid's Book of Tactics 1 Escape From A Pin Not every pin is lethal. In these puzzles, you have to find a way to escape from the pin. The ideas are similar to the ways to escape from a Fork (see page 51). 8 7,7 7 s|BY, YU, 4Y/ Y Y 7 ie as 10g 1G 7 7 Y Aaa a 6147 7 ‘|RAO7) i, 5 aa A, Py wk 4 — ‘| J, JSF 7 3 3m JO J hE 2 2190 GO Gad : ' ayy ley ft ZY rN Ww RUA © @ 9b oc de fe hh 37. Black to Move a becdefgh 38. White to Move mil by Ui, Satta “a as a te q, ‘Y = WV oe WY an . SN “Wy Ii, Ui, AR Miu Ss , WY Dec de fo i 39. White to Move answers: 37.1 save the Rook. HN WwW RUDY © Vis mom one panne He rae “a8 & woman: z a) i @ 7 o za 7 oes os aoe = a a Qo7+ The check saves the Queen wile weeare the White kishoo. New move ve Back w wil 38. 1. Rh8+. The Rook escapes with a check. After the King saves tinsel the Kright gets away too 39. 1. Rd4, escaping from the pin and guarding the Knight. Since the Bishop and Knight are the same value, White doesn’t mind a trade. 40. 1, NfQ. The first piece moves out of the way, and finds a square to guard the Rook.Game 13 e4 Nc3 e4xd5 N@)e2 Nxd5 Nc3 7. Bos! SaPpwPs Pin 73 games featuring Pins Nf6 d5 Nxd5 g6 Qxd5 Qc6 White pins and wins the Queen. Game 14 Queen Pawn Game This one shows a future World Champion falling victim to a pin. d4 Bg5 Nf3 c4 23 Bxf6é cd Qo3 - Qxo7 OP OIF MAW I9 ds BIS Nf6 e6 hé Oxf ed Nc6 Kd7 Clever idea. If 9. Qxa8, Bo4+ drops the Queen to the Rook on hé. White is not fooled. 9, BoS! White pins and wins with two unstoppable threats. One is simply 10. Ne5+ piling on the pinned piece with an attack on the King. The other is 10. Bxc6+. If 10. ...QxB, then 11. Ne5+ forks the King and Queen.14 The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Game 15 Italian Game 1. e4 es 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nd4 4. Nxe5? Tempting but bad. 4, Qg5 Hitting both the Knight and the g2-Pawn. 5. Nxf7 Qxg2 6. Rf1 White wants to save his Rook before taking Black’s Rook. 6. Qxe4t+ Oops. No time to grab the Black Rook. Have to save the King. Block- ing with the Queen loses her to the Knight, so, 7. BeQ Nis# The Bishop is caught in an absolute pin, so it can't save the King. Game 16 Philidor’s Defense This is perhaps the most famous game of all that features a false pin. It was played in Paris back in 1750 between DeLegal and St. Brie. In those days, DeLegal was considered one of the greatest players alive. 1. e4 es 2. Nf dé 3. Be4 Bg4 Pins the Knight to the Queen. 4. Nc3 36 5. NxeS! What's this? Has the great DeLegal lost his mind? His Queen is en prise! St. Brie doesn’t even bother to think about this one. He grabs the Queen.Pin 75 a Bxd1 6. Bxf7+ Uh oh. Only one move. o Ke7 7. Ndd# And now there are no moves. DeLegal didn't lose his mind, St. Brie ost his King! Not all pins are dangerous. Game 17 Vienna Game xere’s another with the same idea, this time between Pillsbury and ==mandez. This was one of twelve games Pillsbury played at the same xme without sight of the boards! 1. e4 25 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. 4 dé 4. Nf3 aé 5. Bc4 Bg4 Pillsbury suddenly has visions of Legal-St. Brie. 6. fxeS Fernandez has visions of piling up on the pinned piece. 6 Nxe5 7. Nxe5! Fernandez is sure he has caught the blindfolded Pillsbury off guard. "ban Bxd1 8. Bxf7+ Does this look familiar? Ss Ke7 9. NdS# Pillsbury's vision was more accurate than his opponent's, and Pills- zury was the one who couldn't see!Skewer (Like a pin, but the more important unit is in front) what’s the big idea? 76 The front piece usually must get out of the way, and then you take the piece in back. A Skewer occurs when a Rook, Bishop, or Queen attacks an enemy piece, and if that piece were to move, there would be an attack on an equal or less valuable piece behind it. We use the term skewer if the unit in front is more important than the unit in back, or if the two units are equal in value.‘Ca a6 @ estate a ‘ae nom a a) a me a ee me ae Z noe a boc dc fog fh Diagram A PNW RUAN w aed Skewer SS 77 Diagram B = po . Look for enemy pieces lined up on the same rank, file, or diagonal. . Find one of your pieces that can attack the front piece and, attacking through it like an X-ray, hit the second piece. » Attack! (The same as with a pin, except that the more important piece is in front.) In diagram A, we can easily see that the Rook on d2 attacks the enemy King on d5, and that when the King moves, the Rook can take the Bishop. That's a Skewer. In diagram B, the Bishop skewers the two Knights. It is also called a Skewer if the pieces under attack are equal in value.78 @ The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics HN WwW RUD @ Find the Skewer VU, asa a am ae a VB), Pa ee a, 4. Ua a bcecdefgh 2. White to Move and Black to Move (both sides have a Skewer) abcedefgh 3. Black to Move answers: gem c oi “ a : YS sk Wi a ae oo oe —— ea PNW RUA Iw abcedefgh 4. Black to Move 1. 1. h8=Q+ Pawn promotion to a Queen is an instant Skewer. 2. 1. White: Rd4+ skewers the Queen. Black: 1. ... Qa4 skewers the Rook. 3. 1... Qc1+ skewers the Rook. 4. 1... BC3+ skewers the Pawn.Pw RUD I Ow PNW RU ADA I Ow S19 Skewer Find the Skewer ee a oe ace ae aoe a aatata Wi, “a 2 8 We be cede fae th abe de Ts h a r cde = gh 7. Black to Move answers: 5. 1. Rh7-+ skewers the Rook 6. 1. Bc skewers the Knights. T. 1... Qd1+ skewers the Rook. 8. 1.... ReB+ skewers the Rook 5. White to Move 6. White to Move oom we] ae oats! a sates oo : Yj a a U8 a “~ ai 8. Black to Move80 [sia] The Chess Kid's Book of Tactics Find the Skewer . cee MA aan ae a fiat v a beco dee fon q. Black to Move to. White to Move CHK ae im : \ -. Bans ‘ : ane: : Hermon. a yee an TI. Black to Move 12. White to Move answers: 9. 1... RNS skewers the Bishop. The fork, 1... RcS doesn’t work because White can play 2. Qo8+ 10. 1. Qh8+ skewers the Rook on 68. 11. 1. ... Qo7+ skewers the Rook on h1. 12. 1. BaS skewers the Rook on d8.Eww eR U aA I Ow PNR UDA NY w answers: eZ Skewer ee) 81 Find the Skewer PNW RU aD © pie gin “G tag @ “ooo © 7a 0 aan eb cde f ¢ h 13. White to Move ale aos 1 7! ana ab ede ft ¢ ih 15. White to Move 13. 1. Bh6 skewers the Rook on £8. 44, 1. ... Bg5 skewers the Rook on c1 15. 1. Qd8+ skewers the Queen on h4. 16. 1. ... BdS skewers the Rook on hi. BNO RUAN Ow ab cd ce fs fo 14. Black to Move @bcde« & ¢ 16. Black to Move82 J] The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics games featuring Skewers Game 18 1. d4 d5 2. c4 es 3. dxe5 d4 4. @3 Bo4+ 5. Bd2 dxe3 6. Bxo4 exf2+ 7. Ke fxg1=N+! 8. RXNg1 —-Bg4 +! Black skewers the Queen on dl. Game 19 Petroff Defense 1. e4 e 2. Nf Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nc6 4, Nxc6é dxcé 5. e5 Ne4 6. d3 BcS 7. dxe4? BxfQ White sees that 8. KxBf2 deflects the King away from the Queen, and Black will simply play 8. ... Qxd1. So, 8. KeQ But that allows the skewer, 8. Bg4+ and the Queen leaves the board after all.Discovery and Discovered Check (One piece gets out of the way, revealing an attack from a Queen, Rook, or Bishop behind the moving piece) what's the Dig idea? With the moving piece, you can attack some- thing else. That gives you two attacks with one move. The Discovery is in the same family as the pin and the skewer. In all three, a long-range piece (Queen, Rook, or Bishop) would have an attack on an enemy unit except that there is a piece between them blocking the attack. In a pin or skewer, the piece in the middle is in the same army as the target unit. In a Discovery, the mid- dle piece is in the same army as the attacker. 8384 3) The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics sy In the diagram below, the Rook would be attacking the King on e8, but there is a friendly Knight in between. When the Knight moves, there is a discovered attack on the King. Since the attack is on the King, this dis- covery is also called a discovered check. In a discovery, you want to attack something else with the moving piece. Here, for example, the Knight would move to c6. That gives White a check from the Rook with a free attack from the Knight on the Queen. a~ @ BROOK BNW RUD & L2/, as “9 ] . Look for ways to attack an exposed enemy piece. . Then get one of your long- range pieces behind your blocking piece. This will look just like a pin or skewer, except that your piece will be in the middle. . Find the most damaging move you can make with the blocking piece, and you will have a double attack. Here, White has a Bishop lined up behind the Knight, with the enemy King in his sights. The Knight moves to f6, attacking the Rook, while the Bishop gives a discovered check to the King.ZI Discovery and Discovered Check es) 85 4 Discovery: Find the Best Move 8 Y Y Y aoe Fe o QD ao 8 menace. an BN Oh UD 8 7 6 5 Ay : 3 2 1 YW, 0, WV: Z da, J, Y Varo: Y Vary ean ‘oe a ae a . W. y G a ee eas @ bc de f gf 1. White to Move te ze imam ae WY “a PNW RUAN O&O ab c de — gh 3. Black to Move BNW RUDY © ab c de — g@ h 2. White to Move “2 az ‘ang eo mee a a abedefgh 4. Black to Move w 8 \ oh a okt sa < *s eo ye Le WU, rite a on a \ oe . — 4. 1. Re6+. The Bishop attacks the King and the Rook attacks the Rook. The Knight can't capture be- cause the King must escape from the check 1. R«cS+ wins a Knight, but winning the Rook is better. 2. 1. Re4-+. The Bishop attacks the King and the Rook attacks the Queen. 1. Rh3 also works, but iis not as good, since Black can block on dé, trading a Queen for the Bishop. You wil still be way ahead, ‘but why lose anything if you don't have to? 3. 1. ... Nd5+ wins the Queen. 4. 1, ... 36+ wins the Queen.I] The Chess Kid's Book of Tactics “A Discovery: Find the Best Move abc de fe hi 5. White to Move 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 j ey abc de ft ¢ fh abcecdefgh 7. Black to Move 8. Black to Move answers: 5. 1.Nc4, The Knight attacks the Rook with a discovery on the Queen. 6. 1. BxOS= with a discovery on the Queen. 7. 1. ... f3= with a discovery on the Queen. 8. 1. ... Bxn2+ with a discovery on the Queen.HNO RUD Vw Bmw RUD I © Discovery and Discovered Check ie 87 LEY Discovery: Find the Best Move ae Vi, 27), ‘a 28 PNW RUDY Ow abe de rah @ bc de f 6 q. Black to Move 10. Black to Move a bcecdefégh nn. White to Move 12. White to Move answers: 9. 1. ... Ndé attacks the Bishop with a discovery on the Rook. 10. 1. ... £3-+ checks the King and unleashes a discovery on the Rook. 11. 1. Bd4 attacks the Knight a second time and opens a discovery on the Queen, which drives the Queen away from the protection of the Knight. Note also that if Black saves the Queen, White has 6 mating attack with Qxf6+ 12. 1. Nc6 forks both Rooks with a discovery on the Queen.8 END RUA Tw BRD RU DA YO The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Discovery: Find the Best Move = aie “ewe vy <« YU), ie “= a RN wR UW DY © abc oy © fo 6 13. Black to Move @ bc de f 2 h 14. Black to Move BNW RUD © ab ¢ dc a gh 15. White to Move answers: 13.1 14. 1. ... Nxc4 with a discovery on the Rook. Ng3+ with a discovery on the Queen a boc de ff ooh 16. White to Move 15. 1. Nc6 forking the Queen and Rook with 2 discovered attack on h, threatening checkmate. 16. 1. Bh7 + with a discovery on the Queen,Zaz Discovery and Discovered Check SO 89 SY games featuring Discoveries and Discovered Check Game 20 Petroff Defense This first example is from countless student games where Black plays an opening that he doesn’t understand. 1. e4 e 2. Nf3 Nf6 This is a perfectly good opening if you know how to play it. 3. NxedS Nxe4 With this move, Black shows he doesn’t know how to play the Petroff. Best here is 3. d6, chasing the White Knight away, and only after White has retreated with the Knight does Black take the e4-Pawn. 4. Qed Nfé Black panics. His Knight was under attack and he ran. However, that leaves White in control of the e-file. 5. Nc6+! White has a discovered check and a simultaneous attack on the Black Queen. Having gotten into trouble with his third move, Black should con- tinue to copy with 4. ... Qe7, and after 5. Qxe4, dé gets the piece back, since the Knight can’t move without endangering the White Queen. White still retains the advantage after 6. d4, but at least there is a game left that’s worth playing.ee 90 GY] The chess Kid's Book of Tactics | Game 21 Scotch Game The Scotch Game also allows for a discovery against an unwary opponent. 1. e4 es 2. Nf3 Nc6é 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 BcS 5. Be3 Nf6? (Q6 is the right move) The Black Bishop on cS is a loose piece. When the Knight on d4 moves, the White Bishop on e3 will have a discovered attack on Black’s c5 Bishop. The problem is that c5-Bishop will be attacking back. White needs to find a powerful attack with the d4-Knight so Black won't be able to play BxBe3. 6. Nxcé! White takes a Knight and unleashes an attack on the Black Queen. Black doesn’t have time to take the Bishop. He has to save the Queen. GC o7xc6 7. BxcS When the dust has settled, White is up a Bishop. Game 22 1. e4 e 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5S 4. Qg4 White saw the weakness on g7 and brought out the Queen to punish it. Bf8 Nf3? Mechanical development. White is going to rely on the brute force of four developed pieces to knock Black off the board. Unfortunately, he missed something. Ss d5! With a direct attack by the Pawn on the Bishop at c4 and a discovery on the Queen from the Bishop lying in wait at c8. wpDouble Check (Attack the King twice with one move) what’s the big idea? If the King is attacked from two directions, the only escape is to move the King. If the King must mbve, the rest of the army is frozen for that turn. If you block or capture to stop one check, the King is still in check from the second attacker. The only escape is to move the King. If the King can’t move, it’s mate. A Double Check is very powerful form of discovery. 9192 | The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics 2 BR w RUAN \ WN 1. Get the enemy King in line with two of your attacking pieces. 2. Move the middle piece out of the way and attack the King with the moving piece, as you reveal a discovered check from the piece behind. Since a Double Check is a kind of Discovered Check, the same rules apply, except this time the moving piece attacks the enemy King, too. Here we can see that if the Knight moves to either f6 or d6, the King will be under attack from both the Knight and the Queen. That’s a double check. In the puzzles that follow, you will find some great ad- vantages to a double check. Be careful! In some of the puzzles, there are two possible double checks, but one is much better than the other. Find the right one!Double Check ® 93 Find the Double Check 8 “ i Va 8 in, i, , 7 | a "i ye eum ee a ata "ys po ata tg 5 Vi. 5 UJ ‘ = x zee a mama ie "ae ana el: ae 1 “” “g 7@ 1 J “2 ae bce dee ig 2h Sb od < fg fh 1. Black to Move 2. Black to Move 8 » Dy » 8 7 a a a 7V ‘| i a “eae: : 7 ee On 5 Z, “ni 4g os ze a ‘ a.m. a : a a | oat mi U . 2 2 i i a 1|787 “<_ a 1 7 ‘ee Oe bec decaf ag 3h abc de bot 3. Black to Move 4. White to Move answers: — 4. 1... Re1#, This double check (++)is also mate. Ifthe 5 Rook were to tae the Bishop, the King would stil be in check from the Rook, and if the b6 Bishop were to block on gt, the King would stil be in check from the d5 Bishop. 1. ... Bc6++. The King must move, even though the Queen could take either piece that is at- tacking the King, Taking one stil leaves a check from the other. 3. 1... Re1#. Another double check and mate. There is no escape. 4. 1. Ne7 ++. Check from the Queen and check from the Knight. The King must move, and then the Knight gets the Black Queen on ¢6. The double check froze everyone, so the Bishop could not take the Knight, even though it meant losing the Queen.94 “| | The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Find the Double Check 8 8 Bi 2 y 6 , iy 6 5 Lak Te 5 ‘| Oimigan 5 Roy | 2|RACR I O77 2 1 Jey e7 1 HN wR UW DN © ab cdc | a h 5. Black to Move an as lO: oO a en i BRN wW RU DN @ abc de fo i 7. Black to Move answers: 8. White to Move 5. 1... BX3++ This is a double check with a fork on the King and Queen, but there is also a mate in one following the capture of the Knight. If9. Kh@ or 2. Kh3, then 9. ... QgQ#. Black could also have played 1. dead. Bh3++, but after 2. Kxh3 it’s just more free material for White, and the Black attack is 6. 1. Nf6#. Nd6 is also double check, but it's not nearly as good. ae 8. 1.Bg5++ and mate the next move. If 1. . Nf3#. Nd3 is also double check, but it’s not nearly as good. Ke8, then 2. Rd8#. If 1 Kc7, then 2. Bd8#.at : Double Check [95 games featuring Double Check Game 23 King’s Gambit Mr. Meek was on the losing end of many games against the great Paul Morphy, but here he shows he can deliver the knock-out against the lesser lights. Meek-Amateur 1. e4 e 2. £4 exf4 3. Nf3 d5 4, Nc3 d5xe4 5. Nxe4 Bg4 6. Qe2 Bxf3 7. Nf6 double check and mate! Game 24 Scotch Game This is the same idea from the other side. Miller-Chernev 1. e4 e5 2. Nf Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Bg Be7 6. NfS d5 7. exd5 Nes 8. Nxe7 Qxe7 9. Bxfé Nf3 double check and mate.Overload or Overworked Piece (One piece has too much to do) what’s the big idea? If one piece is guarding two or more other pieces, you take one of them. When the protect- ing piece takes you back, it will be out of position to guard the other one. 96ZA Overload or Overworked Place S 97 a are under attack. 8| Yi, 08 7, te “eat 6 ~— tO * an an ae 0. :B nee Si” ie a ane 1 77 _ a a , his diagram, the Black Pawn on cé is defending two pieces, both of What to Do_ 1. Find an enemy unit that is guarding two pieces (or squares) that are under attack. 2. Take one of them. 3. When the overloaded piece recaptures, take the other. The Black Pawn on cé is Overloaded. It is guarding both the Bishop and the Knight. White takes one of them, and when the Pawn recaptures, it will no longer be in position to guard the other one. A piece is overloaded when it can’t meet all its defensive obligations.98 2 The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics HN wU RUD? Ow Overload HN wR UDA Ow aE mm sas aaa a \ po « Wi sO Os: a abcde oe gh 1. Black to Move are 2. White to Move 3. White to Move answers: abcd c¢ f 6 1b 4. White to Move 1. 1. ... Rxc4. The Queen is overloaded. If 2. Qxc4, then 2. ... Qh1 #. 2. 1, Bxc3. The Rook is overloaded. If 1. ...Rxc3, then 2. Re8#. 3. 1. Nxh4. The Bishop is overloaded. If 1. ... Bxh4, then 2. Rxc3. 4. 1. Qxd7. The Queen is overloaded. If 1. ... Qxd7, then 2. RFB#.BNO RUAN & eee Overload or Overworked Place ie 99 Overload abc de f 36 fi 5. Black to Move a ye. ‘oes 60 itata "2 a. a Om: Ce a 3m abcde a gh 7. White to Move answers: BEN KR UA NN w PNW RUAN Ow ap be cde rh @ bcd ¢ § oh 8. Black to Move 5. 1. ... Qxe7. The White Queen is overloaded. If 2. Qxe7, then ... Rxe1#. 6. 1... Re1+. The Bishop is overloaded. 2. Bxe1 (only move), Qxa?. 7. 1, Rxo5. The Pawn is overloaded. 1. ... c6x05; 2. Qxd5+ with a decisive advantage. 8. 1. ... Nxc2. The Queen is overloaded. If 2. Qxc2, then Qxh6.Hey 100 |G) The Chess Kid's Book of Tactics C= Overload NW RUAN w 8 8 = a 6 6} 5 5 4 4 ay 3 i 2 2 Y ab cd 2 f gh @ bc die ft = h ni. White to Move 12. White to Move oY SS En ence nee 9. 1. ... Bxc4, The Queen is overloaded. If 2. Qxc4, Rxf3 wins a piece. 10. 1. ... Oxf3+. The Queen is overloaded. 2. Cx (2. Kg, Qg2#), Re #. Reversing the order doesn't work: 1. ... Rxe1 +; 2. Nxe! White is safe. 41. 1. Rkd7. The Queen is overloaded and the Knight is pinned. 1. ... Qxd7, then 2. Bxf6# 12. 1, Rd8! The Rook and the Bishop are overloaded. If 1. ... Red; 2. Nxf7#. IF1. ... Bxd8; 2. Ox8+, NgB; 3. QxgB#. Finally, if 1. ... BAT; 2. Nxf7 is mate (the Rook is pinned).a Overload or Overworked Place es) 101 LEY Overload ‘haem mma] be ; : at ae W 6 ty ae Sata Ae : Mi, i, US, Bs 2 : Ee “e 2) | 1 Y 1 abcecdefgh 13. Black to Move ae — iat? a RN wR UDA Tw 15. White to Move 13. 1... Bxe4+. The Rook is overloaded. IF 2. Rxe4, then Nxd9+ wins the Rook and Bishop. 14. 1, ... Rec. The Queen is overloaded. 2. Gxc?, and now we see why she was overloaded: 2 Qxh4+, forking the King and Rook. 15. 1. Rxe8+. The Rook on d8 is overloaded. 1. ... Rxe8; 2. Qxd6. 46. 1. Rxd5. The Pawn is overloaded. 1. ... cxd5; 9. Qxo5+ wins easily.Lar 102 |G) The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics CZ Overload 8 8 7 7 6] 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 TN ey 1 ab ec de fF ¢ fh a boc de f oh 17. White to Move 18. Black to Move 8 8 7 74 6 6 5 5 4 4] 3 3 2 2 1 7 1 | abe de fF sh abcd i & fh 19. White to Move 20. Black to Move answers: 17. 1. ReB+, and the overworked Rook must capture. 1. ... Bee8; 9. Cxdl4 winning. 18, 1. ... Re! The e1 Rook must capture, or the King is mated on either g@ or h8. 2, Rxe®, Oxf #. 19. 1. Rxe8 +. The Queen is overloaded. After 1. ... Qxe8 (forced); 2. Bx, winning a piece. 20. 1... Qxci4, The White Queen is overloaded. If 2. Gxd4, then 2. .., ReT#.Game 25 Italian Four Knights a ~ oo oe to e4 Nf3 Bc4 Nc3 d3 Bg5 Nd5 ae Overload or Overworked Place ® 103 games featuring Overload e Nc6 BcS Nfé dé 0-0 h6 Nxf6 White saw that the g7-Pawn was overloaded. It couldn't guard the f6-Knight and the h6-Pawn. gxf6 Bxh6 and Black's Kingside has been ripped open. Game 26 Sicilian Defense e4 Nf3 d4 Nxd4 Nc3 Be3 £3 Bc4 Qd2 0-0-0 . h4 Qxd4 . Qd3 c5 dé cxd4 Nfé g6 Bg7 0-0 Nc6 Bd7 Rc8 Nxd4 Ng4 (with a discovered attack on the Queen) Nxe3eo 104 & The Chess Kid's Book of Tactics And the overloaded Queen can't recapture without dropping the other Bishop, yet she must recapture or the Rook goes. There is also 14. Bxf7+, but no matter how White plays it, Black has the extra piece. You may notice that Black could also have won a piece another way here. 13. ... Ne5 forks the Queen on d3 and hits the Bishop on c4 a second time.Remove the Guard (Take the guard, get the treasure) what's the Dig idea? If you take a piece that is guarding another piece, you can then take what it was guarding. An enemy piece or pawn is guarding another piece that you are attacking. There is the treasure—the piece you want to take—and the guard. If you take the guard and your oppo- nent uses his next move to recapture, then you can take the treasure on the next move. 105106 | The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Les aA~ © oe aon a BEN WwW RU . Find an enemy piece that is guarding something you want to take. . Attack the guard. . If your opponent makes an irrelevant move, take the guard. wns. . If your opponent recaptures, then take the piece that is no longer guarded. (If your opponent doesn’t recapture, but moves the unguarded piece out of the way, simply retreat your attacker, and you are up 4 piece.) In this diagram, White is attacking the Bishop on c5, but it is guarded by the Knight on e6. White plays: 1. Bxe6 (removing the guard), and after Black recaptures with 1. ... fxe6, then White takes the treasure: 2. Rxc5. If you Remove the Guard, then there is nothing protecting the treasure.ZI Remove the Guard eo) 107 Removing the Guard h CON a as oa : CAN oo © ce N c de f oh 4. White to Move or on tm aa a be cede tt ae oh 3. Black to Move 1, ... Nxf7 (the only move); 2. Ne6, trapping the Queen. 3. IF 2. cxd5, Bxf3+; 3. Kgl, Ni3#. tended Qxh7#. jishop on b4. . 1. Bxf6, removing the guard for an int . 1. ed, removing the guard on the (Qxd5, removing the guard on . 1, Bxf7+, removing the guard on e6! answers:ao 108 || The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Hw OD RUD Iw Removing the Guard 8 fi 6 5 4 3 2 ) 1 2 a abcedefgh abecdefgh 5. Black to Move 6. Black to Move 8 : 6 5 if 4 tae as 3 mw “a a 2| Ui, 8S , 1 77-77 abc de fog 8 abedefgh 7. Black to Move 8. White to Move answers: 5. 1. ... Qxc3, removing the guard on d1. FQ. ... Qxc3, then 2. RT leads to mate after 3. Qet, Rel # 6. 1... Bxc4, removing the guard on the 66-Rook for the Queen to take next move. 7. 1. ... NxB+, removing the guard on h@. After 2. Qxf3 (or #3) Black wins with 2. ... QxhO# 8. 1. Rxh6+, removing the guard on £7, gxh6; 2. NFT+ wins the Black Queen. IF 1. ... Kg8, then a decoy gives us the same trick: 2. Rh8+, Kxh8 (the only move); 3. N7-+, again winning the Queen,PN wR UDA NY Ow PNR UAT ® answers: Remove the Guard |f Removing the Guard 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 A abedefgh abcdefgh 9. White to Move 10. Black to Move 8 7 6 5 a. a ‘ “ss is a, ae 2 a a — A 2 1 sin [5 oe Th. Black to Move 12. White to Move 9. 1.Bx7, RX7, 2 NxgS wis a piece ce (he keh onh7ispioned), 10. 1, .. Bxg3; 2. Rxg3 (or fxg3), NxhS wins a piece 11. 1... Rxe5 wins a piece. IF. fxg5, Ke7 19. 1. Bxf6, Bxf6; 2. Ng wins a piece.110 The Chess Kid's Book of Tactics games featuring Removing the Guard Game 27 Four Knights Game 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. BOS Bo4 5s da Nd4 6. 0-0? White didn’t understand the threat of Black’s 5th move, but he is about to find out about the tactic called removing the guard. 6. Bxc3! The Knight was guarding the Bishop on bS. Black’s Knight moved to d4 on the previous move, attacking the White Bishop. Now that Black has removed the guard, he can take the treasure. 7. bxc3 Nxo5 Note that 7. Nxd4 won't really help, because Black simply replies 7. ... Bxd4, and remains a piece up. Game 28 Amateur-Canal 1. e4 25 2. Neg d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4, Noc3 Qa5 5. d4 Nc6 6. d5 No4 7. Bd2 Bf White thinks Black is aiming for the Knight fork on c2.Remove the Guard S 111 8. Rc1 Solved that problem. White's satisfaction is short-lived, however. 8. BxcQ! What's this? Why is the Master sacrificing a Bishop? 9. Rxc2 Nd3# Black was removing the guard. With the c2-Pawn no longer guard- ing d3, there is now mate on d3. Game 29 King’s Gambit Our next game is a case of Removing the Guard with a forced Deflec- tion, all with one move. 1. e4 e5 2. £4 BcS 3. Ne2 fe 4. 3 Nc6é 5. 93 Nh6 6. Bg2 Ng4 7. Rf Nxh2 8. fxe5? White undoubtedly thought that he could start pushing Black back with this move. However, Black saw more. Black saw that if he could remove the guards on f3, his Knight could hop over to f3 for a cute Knight and Bishop mate. The problem is f3 is guarded twice. So, 8. Oxf1 +l! Removing one of the guards. There is only one possible reply: 9. Bxfl And now the Bishop has been deflected away from guarding f3, leaving f3 clear for: che ae NAFDeflection (Chase a piece away or force it to move) what’s the big idea? Often you will find that there is an enemy piece keeping you from doing something. If you chase that piece away, you can go ahead with your plan. 112Deflection es) 113 This time, instead of taking the guard, you are going to chase the guard away. You have an attack on an enemy piece, but the piece is guarded. If you can chase the guard away, you can get the defenseless piece. What to Do 1. Find a piece that is guarding something you want to capture. 2. Force the guard to move. 3. Take the piece it was guarding. PNW RUAN w Deflection In this diagram, White is attacking the Bishop on e6, but it is guarded by the Rook on dé. White plays 1. c5! deflecting the Rook. When the Black Rook moves away, the White Rook takes the Bishop. Ina deflection, you chase the guard away or force it to go somewhere else.RN wW RW D> @ The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Deflection HNO RUAN Ow aobec ¢ ef: ¢ h 2. Black to Move 7 pote aa abecedefgh a oe 3. White to Move 4. Black to Move answers: 1. 1. Bxh7+, deflecting the King away from the Rook. After 1... Kxh7, 2. Rxf8, 2. 1..... Bd3+, deflecting the King away from the Rook. After 2. Kg, Rel + with Mate to follow. IF2. Re®, then ... Rxe2 is hopeless for White. 3.1. BFS! deflecting the Queen away from the Knight. When the Queen leaves, RxeB#. If she stays, White simply takes the Queen. If Black plays 1. ... Qd6, 2. Rxe8+, CYB; 3. BB+ is an easy win, but you can have even more fun with another deflection: 3. Bxh7 +! 4, 1... Ne@+ deflecting the King away from the Rook. After 9. Kn, Ref #ENO RUA NY © PNW RUAN Ow Deflection Deflection 8 A vy 5 4 : pa ‘ei 2 yy, A g “geu a bec cd ef oh a 5. White to Move 6. Black to Move 8 fs 6 > °F a) 2 1 abc dc fo 2 ob 7. White to Move 8. White to Move answers: 5. 1. NCT, deflecting the rook from the ele I the Rook leaves the ef, White sins into 5 withthe £3-Kright for a royal fork. So, 1. ... RAB 2. Ne5 wins the Queen. If the Rook doesn't move, then 2. Nxe8 wins the exchange. 6. 1. ... Bxc4, pinning and deflecting the Queen. After 2. Qxc4, the Queen will no longer have a pin on the Black Queen, and it will be free to checkmate the White King: 2. ... QfO# 7. 1.€5, deflecting the Knight away from the protection of the Rook. If the Knight moves, then 2. Gxed. 8. 1. Rxe7, deflecting the King away from the h6-Pawn. Ifthe King takes the Rook, it will be unable to stop the promotion.116 ERD RUA I Ow BNW RU DAN © Deflection The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics ah sAwe HN wR WD I © « mie. U2 a x aa fete E a 4 *, “es ED # © Sm abc de fa hh q. White to Move eb ce de f os 10. White to Move co “» a me “a see " aye VRD Ua x a 8 se 5 Peas a ate ean oat RN WRU DY @ a5 ¢ d © f @ i. White to Move answers: abcdefgh 12. White to Move 9. 1.4 deflects the Knighton eS, leaving the Krighton cA at the mercy ofthe Eshop on. 10. 1. ROB deflects the Queen from protecting the Bishop on f6. ... Cxtb8; 2. Nxf6+ winning a piece after 3. Nxh5, 11. 1. Bd5+ deflects the Queen from guarding e8. If ... Qxd5, then Qe8#. If ... Kh8; then 2. Ro8+ fol- lowed by mate. If ... Kf8; then 2. Qe7#. 12. 1, Qa4+! deflects the Black Queen. 1. Qe8; 4. Rxe8#. Qxad; 9. Nc7+! defiéets the King. 2 KfB; 3. Rd8+,Deflection ® 117 games featuring Deflection Game 30 : Alekhine Defense Wren-Mayfield 1941 1. e4 Nfé 2. eS Nd5 3. c4 No6 4, d4 dé 5. Bd3 déxe5 6. d4xe5 — N8d7 7. e6! Nf6 If Black takes with the f-Pawn, he runs into 8. Qh5+, g6; 9. Qxg6, hxg6; 10. Bxg6# 8. exf7+ Deflecting the King away from the Queen. oF Kxf7 Avoiding this line by 8. ... Kd7 allows 9, Bf5++ and again the King is deflected away from the Queen. - 9. Bg6+ now keeps the White King from returning to guard his Queen, which has been hit with a discovered attack from d1. Game 31 The next game has been called “the shortest game ever played between masters in tournament competition.” (Irving Chernev) Gibaud-Lazard, Paris, 1924 1. d4 Nf6é . Nd2 eS 2 3. dxed Ng4 4. h3 Ne3!!axa 118 fsa) The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics | As if from nowhere, White suddenly finds his game is hopeless. The Queen can only be saved by 5. fxe3, but that deflects the f-Pawn away from plugging the holes on f2 and g3. White resigned here, but the continuation would be 5. fxe3 Qh4+ 6 33 Oxg3# Game 32 Giuoco Piano 1. e4 es 2. Nf Nc6 3. Bc4 BcS 4. 63 Qe7 5. 0-0 dé 6. d4 Boé 7. a4 Bg4 Black doesn't see the danger. He reasons that if White plays the Pawn to a5, the Bishop can simply take it, protected by the Knight on c6, and then retreat back to c6 later. 8. aS BxaS 9; co! Oh. Didn't see that one. The Knight gets deflected away, and the Bishop goes back in the box. If Black had captured with the Knight, it would have been better, but even so, White will have a significant edge. oS Nxa5 9. RxaS BxaS 10. Qa4+ (Picks off the Bishop)Deftection [BI] 119 s Game 33 Ruy Lopez Open Variation poe SLHAeHRwWHAO LO Boe oe eS e4 Nf3 Bos 0-0 d4 Bxc6 d4xe5 Nc3 Nd4 Be3 » NOS Nxe7 Nd5 Qhs Bg5 Rfe1 . £4 - Qhé Bxf6 Re8 e5 Nc6 Nf6 Nxe4 Nd6é oxc6 No7 Be7 0-0 c5 tele) Qxe7 Qds Re8 Rxe5 f6 36 Rxd5 fe A deflecting sacrifice. Black resigns, since there is no stopping Og7#.Decoy (Lure a piece to a new square) what’s the big idea? 120 Lure a piece to a square where you can take ad- vantage of it on its new location. A Decoy occurs when you threaten a piece, making it go to a par- ticular place so you can do something to it when it gets there.Decoy 121 aA x © PNW RW a@ boc d ¢ f 2 ih What to Do 1. Lure a piece to a new square where you have a trick to play on it. 2. When it takes the bait, play’ your trick. The decoy is used with other tactics. Here, for example, you can decoy the Queen with an unguarded pin, so you can later hit the Queen with a fork. Black plays ...Bf4!, pinning the Queen to the King. At first this may seem a little strange, since the Bishop is unguarded. However, that is the point. Black wants White to capture, since this de- coys the Queen to f4. Once the Queen is on f4, it can be hit with a fam- ily fork after ...Nd3+. The decoy is used when we want our opponent to move a piece to a square where we can do something to it, as in the example above.ar 122 |G) The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics L—/| Decoy 8 8 "YY 7 7 eel Yi ae a 5 5 Ly; 4 4 2” “« iV — 3 ; 3 ae até & 2 2 iA a : la 1 SS ab cd 6 fh abc de fe hh 1. White to Move 2. White to Move ae - y 7 Mi, aa “2 = ie = abedefgh abc dc fo th 3. Black to Move 4. Black to Move answers: 1. 1. 8+, decoying the King to 18, where it gets hit by 2. Qf4-+, forking the King and Rook 2. 1. Rd8, decoying the Queen one square further away from the King 1. ... Qxd8, so that after the skewer, 2. Qh8+, the King can’t protect the Queen by moving to f7. Now f7 is too far from the Queen. 3. 1..... Qh1 +, decoying the King into the corner. 2. KxhT. Now the King has been lured into a mating net 2. ... BB+, 3. Kg1 (only move), Re1# 4. 1. ... 94+, decoying the King to a mating square. 2. Kxg4 (only move), GfS#Decoy @ 193 Decoy - WaT Ve eearet a Dy i ._= 7 aly mee a ceent ‘ a abc de — gh A oe 5. White to Move 6. Black to Move 8 2 6 5 4 3 i 2 Tey w 1 2 bc de — 2 fh nie 7. White to Move 8. White to Move answers: 5. 1.Rd7+, decoying the King to a target square. Kxd7; 9. NcS+ with a royal fork 6. 1... Qxf3+, decoying the King into the open. 2. Kxf3, and now 2... Nxd4#. For added charm, this double check and mate also forks the Queen. 7. 1. Qd8 +! The King has no choice here. He must be decoyed to d8: 1. ... Kxd8; 2. Bg5++! All moves lead to mate: 9. ... Ke8; 3. Rd8#; 2. ...Kc7; Bd8# 8. 1. Qi8+!. This time the King has two choices, but again, they both lead to mate: 1. ... Kh7; 2. Qg7#; OF 1. ... KB; 2. RABEVee 124 |) The Chess Kid's Book of Tactics ~Z Decoy 8 8 Zz 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 j 3 3 JE, 2 297 RTT Ui a q 1 Z Y I abc d ¢ f sh a bcd 6 f 2 fh q. Black to Move to. White to Move 8 8 7 7. 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 i 5 QD cde fg h ni. White to Move 12. White to Move eee —— ee 9. 1... Qxe1+ decoying the King to e1; 2. Kxe1, where it can be hit with a fork: Nxg2+, winning the Rook 10. 1. Qxe7+. Now if 1. ... Kxe7; 2. Ng6+ gets the win, The Knight fork doesn't work immediately: 1 Ng, Qg8+ lets Black escape. 11. 1. Bxd7! Wins a piece. Ifthe Queen is decoyed into recapturing, 1. ... Qxd7, then 9. Bxf6 is safe. Black can't then play 2. ... gx*6 because White forks with 3. Nxf6-+, winning the Queen. 49. 1.Bxg7+, decoying the King to g7. After 1. ... Kxg7, White follows with 9. Qg5+ , Kh; and 3. Qf6#Decoy @ 125 games featuring Decoy Game 34 7 1. e4 dé 2. d4 Nd7 3. Bc4 36 4, NPB Bg7 5. Bxf7 Decoying the King out where it can be attacked by the Knight. yee Kxf7 6. Ng5+ is more than White can bear. If 6... Kf6 7. Qf8# If 6... Ke8 or Kf8 7. Ne6 pulls in the Queen. Game35_. Caro-Kann This game could be put in several categories. There is a fork, there is a situation where there are more attackers than defenders, there is a dou- ble check, and two interesting mating pattern possibilities. But the shock move is a decoy, forcing the King to a square where it can be nailed by the double check. Best of all, the decoying move is that most wonderful of all moves, a Queen sacrifice. Reti-Tartakower 1. e4 cé 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4126 cia) The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics | 4. Nxe4 Nf6é 5. Qd3 e5 6 d4xe5 Qad5+ Black gets his pawn back with a fork. 7. Bd2 Qxe5 Now the White Knight on e4 is attacked twice but only guarded once. 8. 0-0-0 White seems to ignore the attack on his Knight. a Nxe4 9. Qd8+!! Black has no choice. He must take the Queen. 9. Kxd8 And now the King has been lured onto a square where it can be hit with a double check followed by mate. 10. BgS++ If 10.... Ke8; 11. Bd8# Ifinstead 10. ... Kc7, then Bd8#.Trapping (No way to escape capture) what’s the big idea? A trapped piece is one that is stuck someplace and has no way to escape before the enemy can take it. A trapped piece is a doomed piece. 127are] 128 i. The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Bruce PNW RW DAN © EN WRU ADA Ow Og ah oi 2m Baan VU Ae nn a i a a@ Db cd 6 ft 2 hh ast In this position, the Knight on ab is trapped by the Bishop. The Black King simply strolls over and makes the capture. In this position the Queen traps and attacks the Knight at the same time. “2 What to Do 1. Find a piece that has limited ways to escape. 2. Find ways to cut off its escape completely. 3. Attack it. 4. Take it.Uannrt o BN Ow BP NwRURANT Trapping ea) 129 Trapping Hel @ mises 7, cee : i RENO RUDY © a bec d ce f 9 ft 1. White to Move 8 i; 7 il < 2 ns “/ J 5 — ni 4 ma “sl ae 3 Y 2 eG & 1 ab co de fF 27h 3. Black to Move 4. Black to Move Two moves to trap the Bishop answers: 4. 1.63 traps the Bishop. 2.1... KAT and 9. ... Kc7 catches the Knight, 3. 1. ... Bg4 traps the White Queen 4. 1. ...'05; 2. BO3, a4 traps the Bishop. This position arses after White gives a “beginner's check’ on b5. The moves were 1. e4, €5; 2. NI3, d6; BO5+ (2 pointless check that lets Black stick @ Pawn in the Bishop's face), cb; 4. Ba4, 25 (setting the trap); 5. ... 65; 6. B63, a4 and the Bishop is trapped.130 {f HNO RUAN Trapping he Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics BR wW RUD TO a bcecdefgh 5. Black to Move Z IANS. Sb cdc fs 6. White to Move 7a F HRW RU DAN Ow ab ced ¢ f 2 h 7. White to Move answers: 5. 1... Be4 traps the Rook on 1 6. 1. Nh4 traps the Queen 7. 1. Ng6 traps the Rook on f8 (the f7-Pawn is pinned). 8. 1. ... a6 traps the Knight on 65 a y, abedefgh 8. Black to MoveTrapping a: on 7 phe PNW RU DN © ayerty y BN wR UA A © So 134 Trapping abc de f ¢ h q. White to Move ENO RUAN © aa 2m RN OU RUAN w @ bcd ef 6 fh Ti. Black to Move answers: 9. 1, Bg5 traps the Queen 10. 1... d5 traps the Knight. 44. 1. ... 5 traps the Bishop 12. 1... 96 traps the Bishop. 12. Black to Move132 The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Li games featuring Trapping Game 36 Philidor’s Defence Our first trapping game features the Noah’s Ark trap. It's called the Noah’s Ark trap because it is undoubtedly the oldest way to trap a piece anyone has ever discovered. 1. e4 eS 2. Nf3 dé 3. Bo5+ This is a pointless check. Avoid this kind of move in your games. All it does is give your opponent a chance to strengthen the center while forcing the Bishop to move again. s c6 4, Ba4 a5 Black lays the foundation for the trap. 5. d3 And White doesn’t see it. White should play a3, giving his Bishop an escape square on a2. sy ee bS 6. Bo3 a4 snares the Bishop. Game 37 King’s Gambit 1. e4 es Q. £4 d5 3. Nf3 dxe4 4, NxeS Nc6 5. BoS Nf6é 6. NxNc6 —_67xc6 7. Bxc6+ Bd7 8. Bxa8 Bg4 Black has trapped the Queen.Trapping by : 133 Game 38 Caro-Kann The next game shows the sacrificial wizard Rudolph Spielman coming out on the wrong end of an attack. His poor Queen must have felt as if a bee-hive had fallen on her head. Botvinnik-Spielman, Moscow, 1935 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e4xd5 céxd5 4, c4 Nfé 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 Qob6 7. cxd5 Qxo2 It’s always a bit dangerous to sweep down into enemy territory with just one piece. When it’s the Queen, you have to be sure you can get her back out again. 8. Rc No4 Is this reinforcements, or something that’s going to clog up the escape? 9. Na4 Qxad 10. Bc4 Bg4 11. NPB Bxf3 12. 9xf3 Qa3 13. Rc3 The Queen is trapped. She only escapes by dropping other pieces and getting a terrible position for the rest of her army.Make the Right Capture (Of two pieces you can capture, one may be a far better choice than the other) what’s the big idea? Two pieces can be taken. Make the right capture and you win a piece. Take the other, and you break even at best. 134ae Make the Right Capt lake the Rig! apture eS This chapter is different from the others. We don't have puzzles in the normal sense. Instead, we are going to follow the thinking of some stu- dents who made very instructive blunders during a game. When you see these mistakes, and understand why they were made, you can avoid making similar mistakes yourself. One of the great features of the human brain is that it can learn from the mistakes of others. In these games, there are two basic reasons for the mistakes. One is not examining your opponent's last move for possible threats. The other is not considering that your opponent might not do things the way you thought. If there are several possible captures your opponent might make, you must consider all of them. Looking at only the one possibility that ends up in your favor is an invitation to trouble. In the following games, one side made a mistake,-giving the oppo- nent a chance to take two pieces. When your opponent makes a mistake like this, look carefully so you can make the right capture. We recommend that you set these positions up on a board and play through them several times. You may not see these exact positions in your own games, but you will certainly see situations like them. If you learn how to evaluate these positions, then when you see similar pat- terns, you will be able to make the right capture.136 2 The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Game One In the following student game, Black made two mistakes. The game went as follows: 1.e4 €5 Q.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bo5 Nf6 4. d3 Bo4+? 5.¢3 a6? The diagram shows the position of the game at this point. UA Y Y 1a VI) 7 a « PEmee, HN WAU DAN © Black's fourth move, 4. ... Bo4+?, allowed White to stick a Pawn in his face with 5.c3. Now the Bishop is under attack and should move away. Instead, he made a second mistake in 5. ... a6. Black thought, “If White takes my Bishop, I can take the White Bishop.” What did Black overlook? He overlooked that White could take the Knight first!! Then whether Black saves his Bishop or takes the White Bishop, he will be down a piece. The funny thing about this game was that White also made the same mistake in his thinking. In the actual game, White took the Bishop. Black then captured the White Bishop, and the two sides were equal. White didn’t make the right capture! Why didn’t White make the right capture? The reason is easy to un- derstand. In playing c3, White threatened the Bishop. The student's rea- soning was simple: “Move the Bishop or I'll take it.” Then when Black didn't move the Bishop, White carried out his plan to take the Bishop,Za Make the Right Capture || 137 not realizing that Black's last move gave him a chance to win a piece. Both players had an idea, and they completely ignored their opponent's move. Good chess players never ignore their opponent’s moves. You must examine each move for the threats it makes and the opportunities it presents. In this case, Black's move, ... a6, was a threat to the White Bishop, but it also presented White with a great opportunity. While we don’t expect our opponent to make blunders of this sort, we must be prepared to take advantage of them when they occur. Game Two a W, ‘alate V ‘gta BNW RW DA The game to this point went: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 BcS 4. 3 Nf6é In this student game, Black got a big gleam in her eye when she played 4. ... Nfé. She had seen that the e-Pawn was unguarded. She wanted to take it.The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics 138 White rightly ignored the attack on the e-Pawn, and played 5. d4 Now Black continued with her plan to take the e-Pawn. 5. Nxe4 What did she overlook? What should she have played? Black was so intent on her idea that she didn't even notice that White's fifth move, 5. d4, was an attack on the Black Bishop on c5. White simply played 6. dxc5, winning a piece for two Pawns (after Black recaptures on c5 with the Knight). Black should have taken on d4 instead. After S exd4 6. cxd4 Bo4+, both sides have a playable game. Because she ignored White's fifth move, Black didn’t make the right capture. Strong players always consider their opponent's moves. PNW RUD OwMake the Right Capture 139 Game Three BNW RUAN & In this Four Knights Game, White misplayed the fifth and sixth moves. These were the moves: 1. e4 e 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4, BoS Bo4 5. d3? (castling is better) 5. Nd4! Here, the student playing Black saw that the Knight on c3 was pinned to the King, and therefore not truly guarding the Bishop on b5. He wanted that Bishop! 6. a3? What should Black play now? a) 6....Bxc3+, 6) 6....Nx05, —c) 6... Nxf3+ answer: a) 6.... Bxc3+ wins a piece.140 1) The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics After 7. 6xc3, Black picks off the Bishop with 7. ... Nxo5. In the actual game, Black was so intent on his original idea of tak- ing the Bishop that he made the wrong capture. He ignored his opponent's last move, which was an attack on his own Bishop. Compare the two diagrams below. The first is what actu- ally happened, the second is wl you prefer as Black? BEN WRU DAN Ow N a> SR « \\ > ae = |G Diagram 2. at should have happened. Which do The wrong capture. Material is even. Black to move, so he can trade Knights and then guard his e-Pawn with . . . db. The right capture. Black is ahead by a piece. Don’t you like this better?: Aas Make the Right Capture les) 141 Game Four EY, Be 17 c 47 Ui. a Pik i_ ms i. US aa @ > Cc de tf ¢ oh \\ ats *. oa a2 BNW RUA © Black was concerned about a Knight fork on e7. In trying to find a way to escape, he noticed that White's e4-Pawn is attacked twice and only guarded once. Taking with the Knight is no good, because then White sinks in with the fork on e7. However, taking with the Queen takes it out of range from the fork. Since the Queen is guarded, Black thinks he will win a free Pawn. With this line of reasoning, Black snatches off the Pawn: ds Qxe4 What did Black overlook? Again, the side to move got so locked in to one way of thinking, he didn’t see the other choices his opponent had. White didn’t have to play 2. Qxe4. She had the much better move (which she played), 2. Nxf6+! re- moving the Guard. Now nothing guards the Queen, and the Black King is in check! After Black saves his King, White takes the Queen on e4 for free.142 2 The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics BR WwW RUD I © After 1. ... Qxe4, Black was expecting quite a shock! White played 2. Nxfo+. Next move, free. 2. Qxe4, What he got was ite will take the Queen for Not only do you have to consider your opponent's last move, you also have to consider that there might be more than one response to your idea. Game Five PN wR UDA Ow Black to Move. White just goofed. He played Bg5 to attack the Black Queen. White's thinking went like this: “Hey, I can attack his Queen! My knight isaa Make the Right Capt b 143 ig! apture oe guarding the Bishop, so I'm safe.” There was also a little secret part of his mind that thought that maybe Black wouldn't see the shot to the Queen. What was wrong with White’s thinking? White was engaged in wishful thinking. If he thinks he can get a free shot on the Queen and goes no further in his planning, he’s heading for frequent trouble on the chessboard. Not only can Black block this prim- itive attack easily, but there is also the more aggressive 5. ... Bxf3!, which wins a piece for Black. White didn’t even consider this response. See the diagram below. PNW RUD Now White has two choices. He can take the Bishop on f3 or take the Queen on d8. If 6. Qxf3, then 6. ... Qxg5, and both sides lose a Bishop, but Black is up a Knight. If 6. Bxd8, then 6. ... Bxd1. Now both sides have lost a Queen, and both sides have a Bishop en prise, but Black is still up that first Knight. White’s failure to think his idea through cost him a piece.144 The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics i aN) White to Move. White tried to get tricky. He played 1. Bxh7+. As he calculated the pos- sibilities, he saw iG ae Kxh7. 2. Ng5+ with a discovery on the Black Bishop on g4. His Knight on g5 is guarded by the c1-Bishop, so it looks safe. Thinking that he had found a tricky way to trade Bishops, but will in the process pick off a Pawn (h7) and disrupt the Black Kingside, he pro- ceeds with the plan. Black can mess up White's plan by coming up with one of his own. How? EN WRU DA Ow Black to Move.Make the Right Capture 145 ti ISS} Black played Q. ... Qxg5! The Knight wasn't as safe as White origi- nally thought. In moving to g5, the Knight left his own Queen hanging to the Black Bishop on g4. White only thought that the King would have to move, since 2.Ng5 was a check. Now after 2. ... Qxg5, if 3. Bxg5, Bxd1; and even after R(a)xd1, Black is still up a piece. What was White's mistake? He only looked at one idea. Black looked at two ideas, and that made all the difference. Game Seven 887 7 ‘|t7 BY, ‘be 2a2e 2| 88 FR ig gave abcdefgh Black to Move. In this student game, Black played the strong move 1. ... c5! Fork- ing the Queen and Knight. White very sensibly saved her Queen with 2. Qc4. What should Black do next? Take the Knight. He didn't. Instead, Black saw a way to win a Pawn and build the pressure with 2. ... Rxe4, pinning the Knight to the Queen.146 The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics How can White escape from this pin? 3. f3! getting in a fork of his own. The play gets a little tricky, but is finally in White's favor. White didn't see the fork, however, and played 3. Nc6, exposing his Queen to the Rook attack, but also attacking the Black Queen. What should Black do now? PN WRU DAN © a becdefgh Position after 3. Ncb. Black to move. answer: Take the Queen with 3. ... Rxc4. Then after 4. Nxd8, Rxd8; Black is up a Knight. Black, however, got frightened by the attack on his Queen and ran from the Knight: 3. ... Qh4. White then got the advantage with 4. Qxe4, and later won the game. Black had the advantage several times in this game, but finally lost because he didn’t make the right captures.Mixed Tactics what’s the big idea? An important concept is that tactics are fre- quently combined, with one leading to another. Many tactical ideas go several moves deep. 147148 |G The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Now that you have become acquainted with some of the tactical pat- terns, we are going to step up a level. In the diagram below, for example, we begin with a Discovery, but the real payoff is in the Capture and Skewer that follows the Discovery. BN Wm WD Yo Black to Move answer: 1. ... RxaQ+; 2. Kel, Real +; 3. kd, wht and Black has taken al White's pieces. In this next section (Part One), we are going to present puzzles that are a bit more challenging than the ones on the previous pages. Although we will give a few hints about them, they are not in any particular order, so you must discover on your own what the tactics are in each puzzle. Cover the box to the right of the puzzle and try to figure out the best move. If you can't find it, you can get a hint from the larger print sec- tion. Keep the small print answer covered until you think you have the right answer. Have Fun! The following section—Part Two—has even more challenging prob- lems. Some of them can be quite difficult.ae Mixed Tactics fee) 149 Part One In the first diagram, White's King is still in the center. The Black Queen is on the same file as the White King. There isn’t always a shot when you have a situation like this, but it’s always good to look for one. It might be there. The Black Knight is well poised to jump into action, and the Black Rook on d8 looks menacing. Can you find a good continua- tion for Black? This game was over in two more moves when Black found a nice pair of forks. The first is based on the idea of a discovered pin. The second fork grows out of the first one. EN ew RUA Tw Black to move. 1. ... Nd3+, forking the King and Rook. The Knight is safe, because when the Knight moved, it revealed a pin on the e-Pawn by the Black Queen. White has only one move: 2. Kd1. Now Black does not take the Rook, because of the even more attrac- tive move, 2. ... Nxo2+, forking the King and Queen. Down a full Queen, White resigned. In the next diagram, White has a dangerous pawn on d6, but it can’t advance without getting taken. The Knight attacks the Bishop, but the Bishop is guarded. Does White have a trick here, or will this just end up with some even trading?150 isto] The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics White does indeed have a trick. What happens when White takes the Black Bishop? Where will the Black Rooks be if Black recaptures? What could White do then? By WwW RUD Iw ae bce een White to move. 1. Nxe8, Rxe8. Now look at that happy Pawn on d6. A moment ago, two pieces kept the Pawn from going forward. Now not only are they both gone, but when the Pawn steps down, it forks the Black Rooks. Black could try moving a Rook to d8, pinning the Pawn to the Rook on d1, but that fails because when the Pawn takes the remaining Rook, it is either check (if the e8 Rook moved) or a pin (if the c8 Rook moved).Mixed Tactics 151 Mixed Tactics White just took a Pawn on dé6 with the Bishop, and Black threatened White's Queen with Rb6. Now it is White to move. Can you find a tacti- cal trick White can pull to get an advantage? White to Move. IF 1. Qx66, Qxb6 and White has lost the ex- change. If 1. Bxo8, Rxc6 and it's all even. Can you find a way to use the power of the Rook on d1? All that firepower and a vulnerable King should mean something BNO AR UWA © 1. Qxd7 +! Kxd7; 2. Bxo8 discovered +! Black has to save the King, and White can escape with the Bishop. Both sides lost a Queen, but Black also lost a Knight. In the next diagram, Black has connected Rooks, control of the d-file, and a dangerous attack on the long dark diagonal. White’s Queen is posted on the seventh rank, but she looks vulnerable. Black to move. If Black could safely get a Queen or Rook to a1, that would be mate. Do you see a way to do that? BNW RUA YT © 1. ... Ra8, pins the Queen to an empty square, a1, but when Black gets to al with the Rook or the Queen, that is mate. White has to lose the Queen or lose the game immediately. 2. Qa4 is best, but 2. ... Rxa4 is clearly winning.The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Mixed Tactics Black is way behind in development. White has good central control. Do you see an attack for White? White to move. White is aiming at f7 with two pieces, while Black has only a King for a defender. White can win a Pawn, Rook, and Queen, and only lose a Knight and Rook. BNW RUA © 1. Qxf7 +, Kh8; 2. Ng6+, hxg6; 3. Rxe8+, Qxe8; 4. Qxe8+ and White can coast to victory. In this game Black got his Queen stuck on h8, and his King’s posi- tion is full of holes. White has that nice Bishop on a3 blocking the King’s escape. Black is up the exchange (he has a Rook for a Knight), but that won't be enough to save the game. White to move. HNO mR HAN Look for a check. How can the King escape? What can White do next? 1. Nh6+, Kg7 (only move); 2. Nxf5+, Kg8 (only move—the Pawn is pinned). White has won a piece and has a very strong attack still to come.ez Mixed Tactics |! 153 Mixed Tactics Both sides have a Knight en prise. However, Black has that great weapon in chess, the right to make the next move. Can you find a clever trick for Black that will win a Rook? 8 7 6 5 4 > Black to move. : | hope you didn’t just grab the Rook right off. 1... Nxe1??; 2. Qxh7#. Ouch. Look for something more subtle and less painful. 1... Qg2+! 2. Kxg2, Nxe1+; 3. King any move, Nxc2 and Black is up a Rook with a winning position. If Black could safely get the Knight to £3, there is a mate threat on h2 with the Queen. Black to move. BRO RUA © The White Queen guards 3. What do we like to do with guards? Deflect the guard away. 1. ... Rd2! If 2. Qxd2, Nxf3+ forks the Queen on d2 and threatens mate on h2.154 The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Mixed Tactics In this game, White thought material was more important than develop- ment. Now with only a Queen, two Knights, and an advanced c-Pawn, Black must prove that White's materialism isn’t going to pay off. Black to move. There is a checkmate on d2, except for White's Bishop. Time to give up more material to get rid of the Bishop. HNO RUDY @ abcedefgh 1. ... NfQ, threatening not just the Rook, but also a mate on d1. White has to take with 2. Bxf2, and Black wins with 2. ... Qd2#. Although everyone in the Black camp seems to be well guarded, there is a weakness. If you find it, you win. White to move. The big problem is that there is a pin coming up, and as we saw earlier, sometimes a pinned piece doesn't protect. This is one of those times. BNO RUD? & 1. Bxg7+ and Black is in big trouble. If 1. ... Qxg7, then 2. Rxf8# (the Queen is pinned). If 1. ... Kg8, then 2. Rxf8+ wins the Queen.ya Mixed Tactics oO 155 Part Two This next section is the most challenging part of the book. You may have very serious difficulties solving these puzzles. We recommend that if you have trouble with these puzzles, set up a board with the puzzle position. But don’t touch the pieces. A very im- portant skill in chess is calculating moves in your head. As with every- thing else in chess, the more you practice calculation in your head, the better you will become. And the better you are at calculation, the stronger you will be as a chess player. If you cannot solve a puzzle after fifteen minutes of study, go ahead and look up the answer, but don’t touch the pieces until you have been able to do all the moves in your head.AK 156 @ The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Mixed Tactics Part Two aoe WCC << . « te y fie f « a oa ana-i f “i a 8 a2 2a ee : Les cS) “3s < INN AX ASS ® i wacom! sb a “a 2% flee! fiir) sa mem |< fem ee |e fa oe mas oe ye Be ‘sae on i Gl « x 3 “2 “2 ane o£ wt ok 6. Discovery: White to Move 5. Deflection: Black to Move5 ABs Mixed Tactics ee) 157 Mixed Tactics oe ee t. gh 72. Mating Attack: 5 « « 2 vo S < os o= oe | = . BIST = ok NSA “a ae 23 8 \Y Bey «5 « s ae Son oon . < eS an- § ze \ oS Ve x 2 miaiicl- § £ \\ es oy Bs ve z= s =e ay es 2 Ze oo SS abedef gh ni. Decoy, Discovery: Black to Move White to Move158 BE NWR UAT BNW RUAN © ENO RUAN & Zee 2 The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Mixed Tactics Bbc de fo hi 13. Deflection, Skewer: White to Move BR wW RUA @ ab cde © oh ove BR wR UAT O abc de fg i 15. Decoy Mating Attack: White to Move abcdefgh 16. Skewer: White to Move i a Oe we sourln B Vee oo 17. Deflection Decoy, Fork: White to Move BNW RUA © BY, 7 ogee abedefgh 18. Double Check Mating Attack: White to MoveBN wR UAT © BR w RUDY © ENA UAT O@ Mixed Tactics 159 Mixed Tactics bc def a! fi 19. Deflection, Mating Attack: White to Move ae Sa ane ao ae im G2e Bec d= f 2h 21. Skewer: White to Move Gb cd ef oh 23. Forks: Black to Move BNW RUA @ BNO RU AT @ BNW RUA Tw a Dic dee ah * 20. Pin, Mating Attack: White to Move a bec de gh 22. Discovery: Black to Move abe de fe hi 24. Deflection, Mating Attack: Black to Move160 EN wR UAT O@ BNW RUAY EN mW AN © bec def gh ating Attack, Deflection: hite to Move 53 abe a er a hi Faw wee ite 12 @ meet mae “ate a bo de fe 29. Overload: White to Move 27. Mating Attack: Black to Move Mixed Tactics BR wR UAT @ BNO RUA OD 2 The Chess Kid's Book of Tactics ee ouble Check, Discovery: lack to Move eo ab LULU 30. Removing the Guard, Decoy, Forks: White to MoveBR WRU AD @ BE Nw RUA © BNO RUAN @ . . _ 34 Mixed Tactics ee 161 Mixed Tactics Oo Ma = Z : . Ay pn am é abcdefgh 31. Pin: White to Move pe eee Vi, a Xe abcdefgh 33. Deflection: White to Move Lagi abcecdefgh 35. Decoy: White to Move BPN wWwRUATS HRW RUD © 32. Discovery: White to Move eee a een 34. Deflection: White to Move ee ee Oe aie a on Y aD cde fF oh 36. Decoy, Pin, Discevery: White to MoveBNW RUAN @ BE Rw RU AT @ BR wR UAT © IU. 0, S950 oF BNO RUA @ HNO RUAN © The Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Mixed Tactics a2 mE cs a fx, D7, i Z abode fen 38. Overload, Pin: White to Move TT: eee “6 6 oe ERG, FER , DEY 7 a boc dee fe hi 41. Deflection: White to Move BE Nw RUAN @ abe d 6 2h 42. Deflection: White to Move@ 163 Mixed Tactics Mixed Tactics a aoe 2 cae coe me mon oo 2. 2ce te oRonwrn na ee 44. Draw by repetition: White to Move 4b. Deflection: Black to Move abedefgh 43. Trapping: White to Move 4S. Deflection: White to Move coe gh 48. Fork: White to Move 47. Discovery: White to MoveThe Chess Kid’s Book of Tactics Solutions to Mixed Problems 1 2. 3. 4, 5. 6. a Oo 22. 23. 24. . 1. Nxe8, Rxe8; 2. d7 forks the Rooks. . 1... Qe3l; 2. Rxe3, Rh2+; 3. Kgl, Re) g2#. - 1. Rxc8; 2. Qxc8, Nxf6+ winning a piece. 1, ... Ra8! The White Queen is pinned to a mate on a8. 1... Rxf3; 2. gxf3, Qh3! With mate to follow. - 1. Qxd7 +, Kxd7; 2. Bxo8+ wins a piece. » 1... cS+! If 2. Kxc5, the Rd5 takes the White Queen off the board. If 2. Qxc5, she is deflected from guarding 62, leaving Black free for a major piece rampage with 2. ... Qxo2+; 3. Kxc4, Ra4+; 4. Qb4, Qxo4#. . 1. Nn6+, Kg7; 2. Nxf5+ For extra fun, play this out to a mate. . 1... Nxg4+; 2. Kg1, Qe3+; 3. Kg2, QI2+; 4. Kh3, QIZ+; 5. Kh4, Be7#. (if. KF, Qxh1+; 3. Ng1, Ne3 + wins easily. If 2. Ke1, Qxh1+; 3. Kd2, BF4+; 4. Kc2, Ne3+ wins and on 4. Kd3, Nf2+ wins.) Somewhat easier to find, and also winning, is the line 2. ... Qxh1+; 3. Kxh1, Nf2+ wins. . 1. a4! The Queen has no way to guard d7. If 1. ...h5, 2. Qxg7 leads to a win. + 1. Rx87, Kxg7; 2. Qg3+, and no matter what Black does, White has a Knight check with a discovered attack on the unguarded Black Queen. . 1. .... Rel wins. There is no defense against the threat of ... Rxfl#. 1... Rg6+ does not work: 2. Qg3, Rxg3; 3. hxg3 and the Bishop is pinned. . C4 deflects the Bishop. 1. ... Bxc4; 2. Qxd6, Rxd6; setting up a skewer with 3. Bxc5. White will win the exchange and have a winning position. . 1, Bc4+ and the f6 Knight is caught between blocking for the Queen and blocking for the King. . 1. xh8 +, Kxh8; 2. BI6-+, Kg8 (or Qg7); 3. ReB# . 1. Nxa5, bxa5; 2. Boé- skewers the Queen and Rook. . Rd8+, either decoying the Black King to d8 for a Knight for: on 67, or de- flecting the Rook to d8, releasing the pin on the Bishop. Either 1. ... Rxd8; 2. Bxc5, winning, or 1. ... Kxd8; 2. No7 +, K any; 3. Nxc5, winning. . 1. Qd5+, Kh8; 2. Nf7+, Kg8 (if 2. ... Rxf7; 3. QdB+, RIB; 4. AxfE#); 3. Nh6-+-+, Kh8; 4. Qg8-+, RxgB; 5. NFT#. . 1. Qxc6+, bxc6; 2. Bab#, . 1. Bxc6! The Queen is lost. If 1. ... Qxc6; 2. Qd8#. . 1, Ra8! And the Queen is on her way off the board. If 7. ... Qxa8; 2. BF3 skewers; if 1. ... Qe6, 2. Ra6 skewers; if 1. ...Qd5; 2. BF3 pins; if 1. ... Qc4; 2. Rc8 skewers; if 1. ... Qh7; 2, B96 forces Qxg6; and then Raé skewers. Alll other moves and the Queen is taken immediately. 1. ... Bxd3! If 2. Qxd5, Be2#. For everything else, there is 2. ... Qxh5. 1.... Nc2+ forks the King and Rook; 2. Kd1, Nf2+ is a family fork, and there is also 2. ... Ne3 forking the King and Queen. . 1... Qxa3, (threatening ... Qxo2#); 2. bxa3, Bxa3#25. 26. 28. 29. 30. : : ‘i 2 1 . 1. Qa6+, Kxa6; 2. BcB#. ; 3 1 1 : : Mixed Tactics [Sh] 165 1. Nxe6, fxe6; 2. Bg6+, Nxg6; 3. Qxg6#. Or 2. ... KFB; 3. Rxd7, Qxd7; 4. Qf4+, Kg8; 5. QF7#. 1. dxc6, oxc6; 2. Bxc6, Qxc6; 3. Rxe7+ and 4. Qxcé. 1. ... Nh3! If 2. RxfQ, NxfQ#; if 2. gxh3, B38 +; 3. Rg2, Qxg2#. All others: 2. ... QG1+; 3. Rxgl, Nf2# (the attack 2. Qxf7 fails—for extra fun, work this out). The main line is 1. ... Rxg2; 2. Nxh4, Rxh2+; 3. Kg1, Rh1#. If 2. Kxg2, Qg4+; 3. Kh1, Bxf3+ wins easily. 1. Nd5! The Bishop can’t handle another responsibility. If 1. ... Bxd5; 2. Qxg4#; if 1. ... QxhS; 2. N6# or 9. Ne7#. 1. Qxg8, Rxg8; 2. Nf6+, Ke7; 3. Nxg8+!, Ke8; 4. Nf6+, Ke7; 5. Nxd7, and Black, who was very discouraged by all this, resigned. - 1. Bxg7+, Qxg7; 2. Rxf8#. 1. ... Kg8 puts up more resistance, but is also hopeless. 2. Rxf8, Qxf8; 3. Bxf8 is an easy win. . 1. Nd5 discovery on the Rook and threatens 2. Ne7#. _ Rxh6+, gxh6; 2. Qe7#. Rxaé wins a piece. If 1. ... Qxa6; 2. Qe5+, Bg7; 3. Qe8+, BIB; 4. AxfB#. . BxgS-+, Kxg5; 2. Qd2+ Kf6 (or Kh4); 3. Qh6#. If 1. ... Kg7 or Kh7; . Bxd8 is winning. _ RAT, Qxf7; 2. Qxh7, Qxh7; 3. f7#. - Rxe7, Qf8 (if ... Qxe7; 2. Qc8+ with mate to follow); 2. Qxg7+, Qxg7; . ReB+, Qg8; 4. BeS-+, Rf; 5. Bxfb#. -. Qxh6 wins a Pawn. If gxh6, Nf6+ regains the Queen. . ... Bg1! Threatens mate on h2 and a discovery on the Queen. . Qo8+!, Nxb8 (forced); 2. Rd8#. - Qxh7 +, Nxh7; 2. Rd8+, Nf8; 3. RN8+, Kxh8; 4. Rxf8#. . 1. Qx05, Ra8; 2. 64, cx04; 3. cxo4, and the Knight has no moves. . Three Pawns about to promote is a good reason to go for a draw. 1. RF7+, Kh8 (... Kh6???; 2. Rg6#); 2. RI6, Kh7 (... RC7?; 3. Rh6+, Rh7; 4. a7! wins); 3. RF7+ etc. Naturally, any other second move by Black allows Rh6#. . 1. Rxa7!, Rxa7; 2. c7! And the dual threats of c8(Q) and cx68(Q) are un- stoppable. . 1... Qxf3! wins a piece. If 2. gxf3, Bh3+; 3. Kg1, Re1+; 4. BF1, Rxf1#. . 1. Nxd7 dis. +, Nxe2; 2. Nf6#. . 1..Ng6, Oxf (if ... Nxg6; Qxd5); 2. Nxe7+ wins the Queen back with an extra Rook.About the Author David MacEnulty was the first person to be hired exclusively to teach chess as an academic subject in the New York City Public Schools. For eight years he taught at Community Elementary School 70 in the Bronx. During his time there, children on his teams won over two hun- dred trophies a year, including first place team trophies in the New York City Scholastic Championships for six consecutive years, and first place in the New York State Scholastic Championships for five consecutive years. His teams were National Champions three times and came in second four times. He is the author of the Chess Workouts for the Chess Club Manager: Think Like a King software, and he has also produced videos of chess instruction featuring Bruce Pandolfini, as well as his own series of tapes for beginners. David and his chess teams have been featured nationally on CBS and CNN, in Chess Life, and in many local television and print news stories in New York.