100 000 Tactical Patterns

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Mal_Smith

GMs have supposedly memorised 100 000 tactical patterns. Let's show 'em all on a chessboard, starting with the very simplest, in an organised way. Don't just list 'em in algebraic notation, or recommend books, show one pattern in one post, on a chessboard. And my starter for 100 000 tactical patterns is:

#1 Double Attack/Knight Fork:

 Your turn...

Mal_Smith

.. or my turn again... Keep up!

#2 Double Attack/Potential Knight Fork: 

 

Mal_Smith
#3 Double Attack/Forceable Knight Fork

 

Mal_Smith

#4 Double Attack (or more!) with Knight colour scan

First Law of Knight Forks: the knight and its targets must all be on squares of the same colour

Supatag
#5 - Guarded Rook Fork to Win
 

 

Mal_Smith

Double Attack/Knight Fork: Pinned Guard. White to move:

 

Mal_Smith

Thanks supatag, that's neat. We'll call that pattern #5, although it's slightly advanced happy.png. Remember my request to start with the simplest. But, hey, who's complaining if you post something cooler. I might have started with Rook Fork:

Looking at #5 again, is the pawn needed? To me, the King seems sufficient to guard the Rook. I guess you are making it so White is up in material after the exchange. Does the endgame then pan out as a win for White? I'll look up endgame patterns later, but if anyone knowledgeable wants to start posting them now... carry on... What to call #5, without the pawn,: "Guarded Rook Fork"? With the pawn? "Guarded Rook Fork to Win"?

MickinMD

Fix #3 the K isn't on the same color as R & N.

MickinMD

I don't think GM's memorize 100,000 patterns. I think that there are lots of variations of patterns they know that are easily recognized - and many of us do the same.  For example, after I queened a pawn (move 1 below, actually move 50 in 2/8/17 game here) my opponent moved into a position where I instantly recognized I had a Swallow's Tail Mate if I could put my new Queen on e7 because my Pawn on e4 blocked the Black K's normal escape squares at d5 and f5. But almost instantly, I realized this was a kind of extended Swallow's Tail Mate because d6 and f6 were also Blocked, so all I needed was Qe8 for mate. I didn't memorize the extended Swallow's Tail Mate, it was just an obvious extension of the basic Swallow's Tail Mate I had memorized.

 

Supatag

 #5 I've renamed the post and here's a demonstration of a winning line.

Rat1960

This mating shape I like a lot.
Not sure it is what you want though.

Mal_Smith
MickinMD wrote:

Fix #3 the K isn't on the same color as R & N.

No it doesn't need fixing, but I should have provided more explanation, and perhaps a better name happy.pngThat pattern is based on Farnsworth:

http://www.chesstactics.org/index.php?Type=page&Action=next&From=2,1,1,2

Although a fork isn't on, it's almost on, and you might be able to force your opponent's pieces into a forkable position, through a check or something.

Mal_Smith
MickinMD wrote:

I don't think GM's memorize 100,000 patterns. I think that there are lots of variations of patterns...

Isn't a "variation of a pattern" a pattern? Good point though, I guess patterns come in many similar categories, like Knight Fork #2 is really just a variety of Knight Fork #1. I'm sure anyone posting to this forum knows many patterns, hence this thread. It's probably beneath GMs to post to it, so I'd encourage ordinary mortals, from beginners to experts, to post any pattern they know. Certainly Rat1960s "shape" and your "extended swallow tail" mate is the kind of thing I'm looking for... any patterns that you care to provide please! I want 100 000. If you feel inclined though, please post simpler examples, as well, so beginners can understand the more complicated examples. Like, I don't know what a "swallow tail mate" is.  Also, rat1960 please provide names if you know them, or (why not) make them up... preferably in some kind of systematic way (NR mate?) , or poetic (pony express mate?)

 

Also I was wondering why old GMs were not beating young GMs, knowing so many more patterns. The "extended swallow tail" tale indicates (perhaps) why. Maybe only young minds have the ability to "extend", at least in the more complicated extensions. So are young GMs producing new patterns in their games while old GMs are using only known patterns (if a vast variety of them...)?

Anyway, I'm derailing my own thread. We are supposed to be showing patterns not talking aboutthem. So please post more patterns...

Rat1960

Skewer - followed by 50 moves trying to mate ;-)

Torelar1

Rat1960 - your post on post 11 is called an arabian mate

Rat1960

#15 @EpicDerp Indeed it is.

Ziryab


Fork
Skewer
Pin
En Prise
Underpromotion
Winning Pawn Ending
Opposition
Outflanking
Piling on a Pin
Drawn Pawn Ending
Discovery
Discovered Check
Double Check
Stalemate
Deflection
Decoy
Remove the Defender
X-Ray
Weak Back Rank
Zugzwang
Triangulation
Double Attack
Square of the Pawn
Clearance
King Position
Smother Mate

 

From the table of contents of this book for beginners: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XKG1VZD