Skybound Chess
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Intermediate · 8 lessons

Essential Tactics

The recurring combinations that decide most games — forks, pins, skewers, discovered and double attacks, and the quiet moves that set them up.

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  1. 1The knight forkStart hereOne move, two targets. A knight that checks the king and hits the queen wins the queen.→
  2. 2The pinA piece pinned to its king can't move — so attack it again and it falls.→
  3. 3The skewerA pin in reverse: check the king, and the piece lined up behind it drops when the king moves.→
  4. 4Discovered attackMove a piece out of the way and the one behind it does the damage.→
  5. 5Double checkTwo checkers at once. You can't block or capture both — the king must run.→
  6. 6DeflectionDrag a defender off its post with a threat it must answer, then strike where it was guarding.→
  7. 7The pawn forkThe humblest fork of all: one pawn push attacking two pieces at once.→
  8. 8Remove the defenderCan't take the piece you want because it's guarded? Take the guard first.→