Tactics in chess

This article is an extract from the chess website bestofchess.com.... you can read the full article by clicking on the link below. Chess tactics are referred to a sequence of moves that limits the opponent’s options and may result some gain. Tactics are usually contrasted with strategy, in which advantages take longer to be realized, and the opponent is less constrained in responding.

The fundamental building blocks of tactics are move sequences in which the opponent is unable to respond to all threats, so the first player realizes an advantage. This includes forks, skewers, batteries, discovered attacks, undermining, overloading, deflection, pins, and interference.There are some famous tactics categories: Double Attack, Pawns Breakthrough, Blockade, Decoying, Discovered Attack, Passed Pawn, X-ray Attack, Interception, Deflection, Pin, Demolition of Pawns, Overloading, Annihilation of Defense, Pursuit (perpetual attack), Intermediate Move, and Space Clearance. We can find also some tactics of more than one type are conjoined in a combination.

The double attack

The double attack tactical procedure is very common in many games. As you might have guessed this procedure involves attacking two (or more) pieces or squares simultaneously. In a normal attack a player could defend by moving the piece, exchanging it or protecting it. The double attack has bigger chances of causing a weakens in your opponent’s game. You can use the double attack in any phase of the game. Because the queen is the piece with the greatest range of action and mobility it can execute this procedure more easily than the other pieces.

Pinning

Pinning it’s a tactical procedure common to many games. You can use it in any phase of the game; in fact many openings use this tactic to disturb the opponent’s piece development. Pinning involves the participation of three pieces: a piece is attacking another one which is being protected by a third one placed between the two.

The discovered attack

The discovered attack is one of the very effective tactical procedures. It involves the use of two pieces; when a piece is moved, it frees the direction of the second one so that this one can attack its objective. The power of this procedure lies in the fact that it can attack two places at the same time: first, it attacks with the piece whose path has been released and second, it could attack with the piece that has been moved. That means that if the attacked player can’t defense both objectives he will lose something. That is why, sometimes, the player who performs this procedure can sacrifice a piece knowing that he will recover it with an advantage or that he will checkmate the opponent! A particular form of this attack is the discovered check (when the piece whose path is freed, checks the king) or the double check (when both pieces checked the king).

The X-ray attack

The x-ray attack is implemented by attacking a piece through the body of another. Follow the examples below so you can better understand this concept.

Interception

Interception is one of the most astounding tactical procedures. It involves the blocking of a direction (rank, file or diagonal) in the idea of reducing the range of action of an enemy piece. It is often done with a piece sacrifice.

Removing the defender

As you may have noticed most of the pieces on the chess board are, at some time, under the protection of other pieces from the same team. This procedure is based on suppressing a piece which is protecting another piece or another square on which a potential attack could occur.

Blocking the king’s escape

Blocking the king’s escape involves blocking the square on which the king could escape.

Freeing

This tactical procedure involves removing your own pieces from certain squares in order to open certain directions or to occupy that square with another piece that may be more suited for the current position.

Overloading

It often happens that a piece may protect two or more objectives at the same time. When this happens we refer to that piece as being overloaded. Usually, when your opponent has an overloaded piece you can use it in your favor by performing powerful attacks on his position (more exactly on the overloaded piece).

The intermediate move

The intermediate move is one of the most refined tactical procedures. This maneuver comes in the form of a move which interrupts an apparently forced sequence of moves, improving the position of the player making the intermediate move. It often comes in the form of a counterstrike when a piece is being attacked.

King’s pawn structure

This tactical maneuver focus on destroying the structure of the pawns that are protecting the king. This maneuver is made possible only when the position of the king is not well defended by its pieces.

Forcing stalemate

This tactical procedure is used by the side which has the disadvantage and it usually involves a piece sacrifice. A player uses this maneuver when he realizes that he has no chance of recovering the gap between himself and the opponent.