Skybound Chess
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Tactics II

The quieter tactical ideas — the in-between move, clearance and interference, overloading, X-rays, the desperado, trapping a piece, decoy sacrifices, and underpromotion.

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  1. 1ZwischenzugStart hereThe in-between move: before you recapture, slip in a more forcing move and gain a tempo.→
  2. 2Clearance sacrificeSacrifice a pawn or piece purely to vacate a square or open a line for another piece.→
  3. 3InterferencePlant a piece on the line between a defender and the thing it defends — even as a sacrifice.→
  4. 4OverloadingA piece doing two jobs can be made to fail at one — attack what it guards until it cracks.→
  5. 5The X-rayA long-range piece 'sees through' another to a target — line up on the file or diagonal and the shielding piece can't help.→
  6. 6The desperadoA piece that's lost anyway — so let it grab as much material as it can before it dies.→
  7. 7Trapping a pieceA piece that grabbed a pawn deep in your camp can be caught — take away its squares and win it.→
  8. 8Discovered checkMove a piece off a line so the one behind it checks — and use the free move to grab material.→
  9. 9The double attackOne move that checks the king and hits a loose piece — the king moves, and the piece is yours.→
  10. 10UnderpromotionSometimes a new queen is the wrong piece — promote to a knight for a fork, or to dodge a stalemate.→