Essential Tactics

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

1. 1The knight forkOne 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.