TACTICS
I started my series with the CCT-rule, which you could call a quick starter on tactics. Now we will have a more profound look into the engine room of tactical operations. A combination can be broken down into four components:
• Motif
• Theme
• Calculation
• Goal
The motif is the triggering weakness or configuration in the position that makes a combination possible in the first place. The motif isn’t yet an idea, but the “raw material”.
The theme or idea is the actual tactical mechanism that capitalizes on the motif. These are the familiar tactical devices: fork, pin, skewer etc. When it comes to check mates, a theme is associated with the final position. Hence, a smothered mate can also be considered a theme. Please note, that for a combination to work, you often have to combine two different themes (in rare cases even more).
The calculation is a usually forcing sequence of moves, often introduced by a sacrifice, that converts the motif via the theme into a tangible advantage – the goal (mate, material gain, considerable positional advantage). As the notion of calculation stretches out beyond tactics, I will deal with it in a separate section.
The ability to actually recognize these factors depends heavily on pattern recognition — you only spot a motif once you’ve already internalized the corresponding theme. In that sense, combinational strength is at its core a library of recognized patterns projected onto new positions. On top of that you need a good calculation technique (methodology) and the ability to visualize a position in your mind’s eye. While most of the tactical tool kit is trainable, the visualization part strongly depends on talent (visual intelligence).
232. Is the position ripe for a tactical strike?
There is always the question, whether your brain should work in tactics mode or not. Oftentimes, there is nothing to harvest and calculation is a waste of time. As a rule of thumb, we can state that tactics are often possible, if one side is very active and the other sides has some sort of weakness. The notion of weakness is indeed one of the key concepts in chess. You don’t want to attack strenght. You want to pounce on weakness. We allready discussed different kinds of weaknesses in the previous posts. Now, let’s assume a new angle. One of the differences between football and chess is, that in football, there is only one goal per team. In chess there are 16! The king, the pawns and every single piece are not only tools and instruments of power, they are also targets for the opponent and can make us lose the game.
233. Does my opponent have an exposed king?
Problems with king safety – a king that is no longer optimally protected (open lines toward it, weakened pawn shelter, few escape squares, a lack of defenders) is the most common breeding ground for combinations.
234. Are there weak pawns?
Pawns are relatively immobile right from the start. If their support and mobility are further reduced (isolated pawn, doubled pawns, backward pawn), the become the primary target.
235. Are there loose pieces
Loose pieces – undefended or only singly-defended pieces are targets for double attacks of any kind.
236. Are valuable pieces exposed?
Queens and rooks are valuable. Defending them is of no use, when attacked by minor pieces or pawns.
237. Are pieces arranged in an exploitable way?
If pieces are arranged on the same file, rank, diagonal or in a knight’s fork constellation, they are exposed to double attacks.
238. Is there an open file or a weak diagonal?
Open files or vulnerable diagonals are potential points of entry for long range pieces. This is particularly the case in the presence of batteries (queen-bishop, or major pieces).
239. Is there an overloaded defender?
A defender who has to fulfill two or more tasks at once (e.g., a piece that both, covers a square and prevents a mate) can be brought down by deflecting or destroying that dual function.
240. Do I have a superiority of firepower
An advantage in terms of piece activity yields tactical chances. This advantage can originate from the following factors, which can also occur together.
1.Local space advantage
A preponderance of active, well-coordinated pieces in one sector of the board makes tactical operations there calculably viable.
2.Time factor
Whoever is ahead in tempo (faster development, initiative) can justify sacrifices that wouldn’t be correct otherwise.
3.Restricted mobility of the opponent
Cramped pieces are less effective in the defense, even if they are placed on the right wing.
241. Is there a potential mate position I might be able to reach?
Final matting patterns fall under the category of themes. You should be familiar with the most common ones. Here is a list:
• Anastasia’s mate
• Arabian mate
• Balestra mate
• Blackburn’s mate
• Blind Swine mate
• Boden’s mate
• Corner mate
• Damiano’s mate
• Damiano’s bishop mate
• David and Goliath mate
• Double bishops mate
• Double knights mate
• Dovetail mate
• Epaulette mate
• Greco’s mate
• Hook mate
• Kill box mate
• Lawnmower mate
• Lolli’s mate
• Max Lange’s mate
• Opera mate
• Pillsbury’s mate
• Reti’s mate
• Smothered mate
• Suffocation mate
• Swallow’s tail mate
• Triangle mate
242. Can I execute a demolition sacrifice
If you have superior fire power, you can sometimes sacrifice a piece to destroy the king’s pawn shield.
243. Can I initiate a king hunt?
Sometimes you can draw the king into the open by means of a demolition sacrifice or magnet sacrifice.
244. Is there a fork possible?
The double attack is the mother of all tactical themes. It mostly appears in the shape of forks, but is also the basis of some other forms dealt with below.
245. Is there a discovered attack possible?
When used as a double attack, the discovered check is very powerful, as it restricts the options of the defender. Very dangerous is the double check, as it can easily be check mate.
246. Is there a skewer possible?
The skewer is also a double attack, this time with an X-ray element involved.
247. Is there a decoy available?
A decoy is a two-step operation and more complex than a double attack. First, we force a piece on a certain square and the exploit it there, with a follow-up theme.
248. Is there a deflection possible?
Deflection is related to decoy. The difference is that here, a piece is not drawn to a specific square but drawn away from a specific square, which then will be exploited.
249. Can I apply some sort of clearance?
Often, one piece or pawn is in the way of one of more pieces. Some tactical strikes will hence need the clearance of a square, a file or a diagonal to work out.
250. Can I profit from a pin?
One way of capitalizing on a pin is to attack the pinned piece one more time, as it is incapable of moving.
251. Can I profit from unpinning a piece?
Sometimes you can mobilize a piece by unpinning, which than will participate in the battle in a decisive manner. Another way to interpret the theme “unpinning” is to just move the pinned piece and sacrifice the now exposed valuable piece in the background.. This can take the shape of a queen sacrifice as in the famous Legal’s mate.
252. Can I exploit an overload?
Overload is the principle underlying the mechanism of deflection. But what if the overloaded piece does not want to be deflected? In that case, overload is a mechanism in its own right.
253. Can I perform a blockade sacrifice?
A combination can also include the blockade or restriction of an enemy piece. For instance, you could block the escape route of your opponent’s king.
254. Can I uncork an intersection combination?
The intersection theme is pretty rare and elegant and sub-set of the blockade sacrifice. You place your piece (or pawn) on the intersection of the line of action of two enemy pieces. Both lines are vital for your opponent. Now, whatever piece captures, blocks the line of action of the other.
255. Can I trap a piece?
If a piece is immobile, simply attacking it can sometimes do the job. Imagine a rook on a8 is caught between the knight b8 and the pawn a7. Attacking it with Bf3 or Qf3 would often win material.
256. Can I entomb a piece?
Imagine Black has a fianchettoed bishop on g7 and a rook an f8. With your pawns on g5 and f5, playing f5-f6 would bury the bishop alive on h8. A similar scenario would be the following pawn structure: a2, b2, c4, d5, e4, f2, g5, h5 versus a7, b7, c7, d6, e5, f4, g6, h7. With Black’s rook on f8 and his bishop on g7, you could now bury the bishop with h5-h6. Just open the queenside and win the game with your de facto extra piece.
257. Can I profit from a potential pawn promotion
As a pawn promotion is similar to winning a queen, its specter provides you with many options, starting with a pawn break through, a piece sacrifice with the same idea or deflection attacks on pieces who are tied to the task of preventing the promotion.
258. Can I profit from an X-ray effect?
X-ray attacks can easily be overlooked as their effect runs through other pieces. Of course, the point is, that these pieces will have to be removed in the course of the combination, when the power of the X-ray effect will become obvious.
259. Can I use a withdrawal mechanism?
Withdawal is an elegant theme. By withdrawing a piece ot pawn from a potental capture, I often severely immobileze my opponent’s forces. This can happen in the contexts of tension betwen pawns. By removing my pawn, my oppont’s pieces might end up being handicaped by their own pawn. This can have positional consequencyes, but also tactical ones.
260. Do I have an intermediate move?
I already dealt with intermediate moves in the section on perception.
261. Do I have a silent move?
As it happens with intermediate moves, silent moves can be easily overlooked. Which is why they were also mentioned within the perception topic.
262. Is there a perpetual check?
Winning a game is only one goal, avoiding loss another. Finding a perpetual check is a way of escaping a dangerous situation.
263. Do I have a forced repetition of moves?
Sometimes, you can force a repetition of moves, as deviating would be disadvantageous for the opponent. In some way, the perpetual check is a subset of the forced repetition of moves. As there is total force, however, it has its own raison d’être. A genuine subset, however, would be “perpetual pursuit”, for instance of a queen.
264. Is there a stalemate combination?
Salvation by stalemate is not only a topic in endgames, as I pointed out here on my Youtube-channel.
