Pins, forks, skewers, discovered attacks — the patterns that win material in real games.
A fork attacks two or more pieces at once, so one of them is lost. Knights are the natural forkers — their L-shape hits pieces that cannot h
"intro":"A pin freezes an enemy piece: moving it would expose something more valuable behind it. Learn to spot pins — and to pile up on the
A pin freezes a piece because something more valuable stands behind it. Absolute pins (against the king) forbid the pinned piece to move at
"intro":"A fork attacks two pieces at once — the opponent can only save one. The knight, with its strange jump, is the champion forker.","st
A skewer is a reversed pin: the more valuable piece is in front, so it must move and the piece behind it falls. Rooks and bishops on open li
A discovered attack hides one attack behind another: move the front piece, and the piece behind it fires for free. The moving piece can deli
Deflection drags a defender away from its duty. When one enemy piece holds two things together, force it to choose — or to leave. The two f
A decoy lures a piece to a square where it dies. While deflection empties a square, decoy fills one — with a piece you can capture or mate.
Everyone expects recaptures. The zwischenzug (in-between move) inserts an unexpected check or threat first, and shatters the expectation — t
Every lesson plays out on the board with guided moves — start free.