Introduction to Tactics

Introduction to Tactics

Get ready for a tactical workout!

Are you ready to take your game to the next level? Then this course is for you! This module introduces you to the tactical tools of chess you need to reach the next level. This tactical workout will whip your game into shape!

Here is what you will learn:

  • Practice forks!
  • Work on pins!
  • Spot discovered attacks!
  • Checkmate your opponent!

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Foot Race

White to play
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An Aggressive King

White to play.
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Vulnerable Pieces

White to play
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King Power

White to play
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Royal Invasion

White to play
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Salad Time

White to play
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Front and Center

Black to play
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Knightmare

White to play
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Rookey Lookey

White to play
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Dagger Thrust

White to play
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First Strike

White to play
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No Mercy

White to play
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Looks are Deceiving

White to play
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Shishkabob

White to play
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Beginner's Delight

White to play
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Dream Come True

White to play
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Bare Bones

White to play
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Nice Knight

White to play
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Square Patterns

White to play
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Goodnight

White to play
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In the Saddle

White to play
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Radiance

White to play
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Triple Threat

White to play
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Rank and File

White to play
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Elbow Room

White to play
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In the Line of Fire

White to play
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Strung out Bishops

White to play
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Royal Separation

White to play
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Double Trouble

White to play
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Divide and Conquer

White to play
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Omnipotent Queen

White to play
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A Common Theme

White to play
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Royal Fork: The Knight's two handed punch

This problem shows us what a fork is. A fork is a case where two pieces are attacked at the same time by one opposing piece.
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Family Fork

When a lone knight attacks a king, queen, and rook at the same time, we get what is known as a family fork.
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Bishop Fork

A certain symmetry between two Black pieces exists on the board which makes a fork possible.
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Rook Fork

Knights fork on their strange "L" shaped patterns, bishops fork on diagonals, and rooks, of course, can fork on either ranks or files.
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Pawn Fork

It's one of the curiosities of chess that the weakest of pieces can pose a threat to the strongest. Even harmless little pawns can attack two pieces at once.
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Queen Fork

The queen has the ability to move like a rook and bishop combined. Due to this versatility, the lady's forking powers are considerable.
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King Fork

It may surprise you, but even a king can fork pieces! In the present example we see the White king take matters into its own hands and fork the rook and knight.
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Winning Knight

White to play
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Horse Jumping

White to play
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Smiling Pawn

White to play
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Today the Center

Black to play
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The Line Up

White to play
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Stuck in the Mud

White to play
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Adding Pressure

White to play
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A Tight Rein

White to play
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All Pinned Up

Black to play
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Fatal Attraction

Black to play
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Ladies First?

White to play
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Too Close for Comfort

Why did your opponent play that move?
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Excellent Teamwork

White to play
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Caught in a Trap

White to play
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Weak Rank

Black to play
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To the Rescue

Black to play
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Pinned Pawns

Every piece on the board is subject to a pin, with the sole exception of the king. A king cannot be pinned to something of greater value because there is nothing of greater value!
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Rook pins

The two best pinners are rooks and bishops. Queens also make excellent pinners, since they mimic the movements of these two pieces. In this problem the White rook can initiate a very effective pin.
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Dark Squares

Black to play
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A Handy Tactic

White to play
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Feint and Strike

Black to play
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Distraction

White to play
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Promoting a Pawn

White to play
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Black Dagger

Black to play
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Fatal Line up

White to play
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Back Stabber

White to play
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The Skewer

A skewer is like a backwards pin in that you threaten a piece, force it to move, and capture a less valuable piece behind it. In a pin you attack a piece that has a more valuable piece behind it.
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Rook Skewer

Skewers are most commonly made by bishops and rooks. In this case a rook wins the game by itself.
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Wandering Queen

White to play
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Corner Shot

White to play
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A Common Trick

Black to play
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No Room to Roam

White to play
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Trapper John

White to play
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Monarchy

White to play
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Tickle a Horse

White to play
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Houdini

White to play
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Hanging Pieces

Black to play
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Perpetual Check: Two Rooks on the Seventh Rank

Two rooks doubled on the seventh is a glorious thing to have!
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Opening Ambush

White to play
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Peek-A-Boo

White to play
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Look What I Found

White to play
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Double Duty

White to play
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Methodical Gains

White to play
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The discovered check

Black has just played the rook to b2 and called check to the White king. Was this a good idea? What should White do?
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Blow for Blow

White to play
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Does the Pin Win?

Black to play
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Breaking a pin

Some pins win decisive amounts of material, while other pins are just of temporary nature and can be defused with careful play. Here we want to find a way to end the pin against Black's c6-knight.
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Basic Mate: King and Queen vs. King

This is one of the most important mates you will ever learn, because it is something you simply HAVE to know! I
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Basic Mate: King and Rook vs. King

A king and rook can mate a lone king in fairly easy fashion, though it must be admitted that the process is longer and more tedious than a king and queen mate.
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Basic Opposition: King vs. King

An invisible force exists between the kings that allows one king to outperform the other. This force is known as the opposition.
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Square of a passed pawn

At times the opponent is pushing their pawn, and your king is far from the action. How can you tell if you can stop their pawn? Here we learn a shortcut that makes the whole process easy!
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Pawn Structure

In general, you are supposed to pick a plan of action based on the state of your pawn structure.
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