Beyond what you can calculate, you must rely on strategy to guide you in finding the best plans and moves in a given position.
Chess strategy includes a wide range of concepts, from how to value the pieces to evaluating a position. Mastering these principles will greatly improve your understanding of chess.
To get you started check out these strategy gems available for purchase in the Chess Universe Shop!
4 Chess Tactics To Know
1. Fork
2. Pin
3. Skewer
4. Overloading
1. Fork
Position a piece so it’s able to attack 2 of your opponent’s pieces.
This works best with your most mobile pieces, like the knights, bishops, rooks, or queen.
Try to find a square where you can capture 2 or more different pieces on your next turn.
Make sure your piece isn’t at risk of getting attacked, or else this tactic won’t work.
While your opponent can move and save one of the pieces, you’ll still be able to catch the other one.
This tactic is known as a “fork.” If you can, try to find a square where you can target the king and queen at the same time.
Your opponent will have to move their king to avoid losing so you’ll be able to capture the queen.
2. Pin
Use pins to trap your opponent's pieces.
Look over the chess board and look for powerful pieces, such as the king and queen, that are behind weaker pieces.
Position a queen, bishop, or rook into a space where you can attack the weaker piece.
Your opponent will hesitate to move the weaker piece since you could attack the stronger piece behind it and gain a better board state.
If you’re lucky, your opponent might not even notice you pinned them and you can capture a strong piece like a rook or queen.
3. Skewer
Create a skewer to force the capture of a weaker piece.
Similar to a pin, a skewer is set up the same way but the more powerful piece is in front of the weaker piece.
In this case, your opponent will want to move the stronger piece out of the way to protect it, but you will be able to capture the weaker piece on your next turn.
If your opponent doesn’t move the stronger piece on their turn, then make sure you capture on your turn before they notice!
Learn as much as you can about your opponent before practicing and putting into play any of the chess tactics we talk about!
4. Overloading
Put pressure on a piece that’s protecting multiple other squares.
This tactic is called overloading since your opponent’s piece is doing a lot of work protecting other pieces.
If you see a piece that’s defending multiple other pieces, try moving one of your pieces right next to it.
Your opponent will have to defend against your attack and abandon the other pieces it’s protecting.
This only works when there are still a lot of pieces on the board since more open space gives your opponent an opportunity to escape.
Bonus Chess Tips
When thinking about chess, most beginners think about capturing the pieces and mating the king. However, there is so much more to this beautiful game.
If you truly are on a path of becoming a chess enthusiast, alongside these helpful four tips we recommend you study openings that work best for your style of play! Check some out here:
In addition to your openings it’s super important to know some common chess mistakes in advance. Prepare yourself for moments that will end the game too soon, and grow past these rookie moves. Go through our common beginner chess mistakes and figure out what you can do instead! Check them out here:
Checkmates are the peaks of certain chess games. The path to reaching them is set before every player. The best way to know them is to know some typical checkmates that you can do and then of course grow from there. We offer you some that are really interesting and will get your creative juices flowing! Find one that you think is cool to try and check all your mates! Check them out here:
Finally, inspire yourself for chess by reading all you can about it. To really get excited we recommend checking out some fun facts about chess. There is a reason this game survived for so long and is beloved by so many! It’s not only historical but also some modern moments of this ancient game that will make you gasp and even a few funny anecdotes about the world’s greatest chess players! Check them out here:
Our final trick is practice, practice, practice! Download our chess app below and start your chess journey now! Dive into the fascinating plays done by the greatest grandmasters, discover parts of yourself that you didn’t know existed and try your luck with real opponents. Now you have some tips on how to do that so let’s see together what you can do. Transfer the knowledge gathered on a board!
Once you try these out do not hesitate to let us know how well you managed to apply our advice. We wish you a ton of victories and never get discouraged in chess. Remember that each chess game you play has made your knowledge of people and life richer for at least one other person! Go and conquer the chess world with Chess Universe , one checkmate at a time!
