forks, pins, and skewers

It's one thing to pratice and recognise them. It's quite another to set them up. The main problem is my opponent moves their pieces to places where I can't pin them. This is where. think knowing some openings comes in handy, some of them, supposedly, will help in having your pieces in optimal positions to execute surprise tactics and other cleverness. Of course that's easier said than done as well. Is there any tips on how to set up traps?

The best way to get forks, pins and skewers is to have your pieces in active positions:  rooks on open files, bishops on open diagonals, knights in the center or near the opponent's tender spots (king position in particular), pawns controlling center squares or pushing toward the enemy king.

If your pieces are much more mobile than the opponent's, tactics will spring up all over the place.

At your level it is not essential to know specific openings (though it doesn't  hurt either) but it's important to know what you are trying to do in the opening:  control the center, mobilize your pieces, and get your king to safety.  Every move should try to accomplish at least one of these goals, or prevent your opponent from doing the same.

More specifically:

Pinsa and skewers need open lines.  Watch for an enemy king who is slow to castle:  you can get pins down the e-file with a rook or queen, or down the diagonal with a bishop.  Of course, to get a rook pin on the e-file you need to get your rook out, so castle early if you can.

If you don't have the open lines you need, see if a pawn move or a piece exchange can open them.  You can consider sacrificing a pawn if it gets a line open to the enemy king.

When I was a beginner I only found one-move knight forks.  I remember it was a huge improvement to first notice that two enemy pieces are a knight fork apart, and then look for a way to get a knight there.  Sometimes you can make a move with the knight that threatens a piece or pawn, and also threatens to go to a fork square.

In any position where you can give check without losing material, try to forsee whether you'll have a fork, pin, or skewer after the opponent deals with the check.  It is often possible to check the enemy king into a bad position, or check him and then pin the piece that interposes.

I find that if I concentrate on getting to good positions with my peices  developed, in active positions... that the tactics "appear".  

On the other hand, if I maneuver around to some far flung fork, skewer or pin; the opponent sees it- and it dissapears.  

Without taking anything from mkkuhner's excellent advice, I might add that it becomes easier to understand how to set up tactics when you play through master games and observe their tactics in action. It is easier for most players to spot these tactics and understand the process of creating them by studying the games of nineteenth century masters.

If you look at enough of Paul Morphy's games, particularly, you'll find that he followed mkkuhner's advice about finding active squares for his pieces.

I have been playing through master games. Mostly because I enjoy it. It seems like I go through losing streaks, then a small winning streak and I think I "get it". Then I blunder a few games away. Or I try a new opening and it looks great at first, then I see myself in a net of traps. Oh well. I still have my day job.

I've lost as many as twelve blitz games in a row on this site. I have days when I win 1/3 or fewer of my games, and often on such days I'm playing only lower rated players.

Sometimes, the game of a chess is a bruh moment.....