Tactics for Everyone

Discover attack

Ronen "indiana-Jones" Har-Zvi in his new feat "Tactics for Everyone" - a course on basic and not-so-basic tactics in chess - demostrating how to take advantage of undefended pieces, with what is usually called a double-attack. If you have loose pieces spread over the board for too many moves in a row, you're bound to suffer from your opponent's tactics, aimed to win material, when not the whole game. In this series, GM Har-Zvi guides you to learn the thinking processes that lead to spot tactics on the board and take advantage of the chances offered by the position. As Ronen says: everyone blunders, even Carlsen, and a good player must be able to spot it and punish it. How? By using tactics, of course!

This week Ronen illustrates another basic idea in the tactics realm: the discover attack. As he says, when there is an open file, and a piece - or the Queen - is potentially under attack, it's like when you see a red dot hoovering over your chest. Nobody has pulled the trigger yet, but you need to pay attention! Attacking a piece by a discover check leads to win material, and often the game. Again, it's important to recognize the patterns which lead to these advantagious situations, and once you get familiar with the patterns, you can find ways to create positions on the boards which will help you use the tactics Ronen is teaching you in this amazing show.

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