Other players feared them because of their calculation power, acute tactical awareness, and aggressive play.
Great tactical players like GM Mikhail Tal, GM Judit Polgar, and GM Garry Kasparov have made history because of their amazing tactical abilities. Since tactical shots usually lead to a material gain or checkmate, playing them gets you much closer to victory. Learning to identify and play tactics is a crucial skill for every chess player. The bishop moves and uncovers the rook's check on the black king. If the uncovered piece attacks the enemy king, it is a discovered check. Discovered AttacksĪ discovered attack happens when a player moves a piece out of another piece's way to create an attack. The knight forks the rook and the queen at the same time. Knights are especially useful for forking because of their unique movements. Forksįorks happen when a single piece attacks two or more pieces simultaneously with no way for at least one of them to escape. The queen attacks the king, which has to move and allow the white queen to capture the black queen. The more valuable piece has to move and allow the attacker to capture the piece behind it. They happen when a piece attacks a more valuable piece aligned with a weaker piece. Moving the knight would allow Black to capture the white queen. The attacked piece is then "pinned" to the board since moving it would cause the attacked player to suffer a significant loss. Pins happen when a piece attacks an opponent's piece aligned with another more valuable piece or critical square. Many other more advanced tactics also stem from the following basic tactics. Four of them are the basic tactics that most commonly appear in chess games and, therefore, are of the utmost importance to every chess player. There is a wide variety of tactics in chess. A knight fork is a common tactic where a knight attacks two pieces at once, winning material. These moves must be forcing so the other player cannot escape them. Tactics happen in chess when a player makes a maneuver that seizes immediate opportunities, such as material gain or checkmate. Here is what you need to know about chess tactics: Learn everything about tactics and how you can use them to win more games. There is a famous saying that "chess is 99 percent tactics." Even though that is an exaggeration, tactics can end a game in just a few moves.