Section

Tactics

Short combinations that win material. Each entry walks through one motif — what it looks like, why it works, and how to spot it in your own games.

Deflection

Forcing an enemy piece to move away from the square it is supposed to be defending.

Moving a piece out of the way to reveal a hidden attack from a piece sitting behind it.

A special discovered attack where both the moving piece and the revealed piece give check at the exact same time.

One piece attacks two or more enemy pieces at the same time, making it impossible to save both.

A single piece is tasked with defending multiple threats at once. When attacked, it cannot save everything.

A piece is trapped in place because moving it would expose a more valuable piece behind it to capture.

Intentionally giving up a piece to gain a larger tactical advantage, position, or checkmate.

An attack on a high-value piece forces it to move, exposing a less valuable piece behind it to capture.