MY FIRS T BOOK OF

Chess Tactics
David MacEnulty

2015
Russell Enterprises, Inc.
Milford, CT USA
 My First Book of Check Tactics
by David MacEnulty
© Copyright 2015
David MacEnulty
For
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used, reproduced, stored Elizabeth and Edward
in a retrieval system or transmitted in any manner or form whatsoever
or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the express written permission from the
publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles
or reviews.

ISBN: 978-1-941270-1-41

Published by:
Russell Enterprises, Inc.
PO Box 3131
Milford, CT 06460 USA
http://www.russell-enterprises.com
info@russell-enterprises.com

Layout and cover design by Fierce Ponies Enterprises, Brooklyn, NY

Proofreading by Peter Kurzdorfer

Printed in the United States of America

 Acknowledgments
This book would not have been written were it not for the two Bruces: my
mentor as a beginning teacher over twenty years ago, Life Master Bruce
Alberston, whose innovations in chess teaching have been an inspiration to
me at every step along the way, and National Master Bruce Pandolfini, who
has been both friend and guide as I traveled the always exciting world of
teaching chess.
I am also grateful to Mitchell Fitzko, Alex Beltre, Fritz Gaspard and
Elizabeth Vicary Spiegel, all of whom made important suggestions that
have been incorporated into this book. I am also deeply indebted to
Grandmaster Miron Sher and National Master Bruce Pandolfini for lending
their wisdom to this project.
Most importantly, I thank my students at C.E.S. 70; they taught me a lot
about how and why people learn. They were the inspiration for this book,
and I have used many positions from their tournament games in this work.
Several years have passed since the first version of this book appeared. I
have made several additions and, I hope, improvements in this edition. I am
further indebted to Mitchell Fitzko for his proofreading of this edition. He
saved me from many embarrassing errors. Those that remain are entirely
my fault.
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1 Chess Notation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2 Exchange Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3 Tactics Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4 En Prise. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
5 Take a More Valuable Piece . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
6 More (or Better) Attackers than Defenders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
7 Fork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
8 Pin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
9 Skewer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
1 0 Discovery and Discovered Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
1 1 Double Check. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
1 2 Overload or Overworked Piece . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
1 3 Remove the Guard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
1 4 Deflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
1 5 Decoy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
1 6 Trapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
1 7 Four More Tactical Ideas: X-Ray, Interference,
Clearance, and the Windmill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
1 8 Make the Right Capture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
1 9 Mixed Tactics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Part One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Part Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
 Unit 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
 Unit 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Answers to Unit 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
2 0 Strategy and Tactics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
 Introduction
This book is based on three big ideas:
1) Tactics are based on basic patterns that can be learned through organized study.
2) Tactics are the ways chess players gain a material advantage; all other
things being equal, the player with a material advantage has the better
chances to win the game.
3) The chess player who knows tactics beats one who doesn’t.
There is a famous quote that chess is 99% tactics. Whether that particular number
is true or not, there is no question that tactics contribute mightily to winning and
losing chess games. Many opening ideas are based on tactical considerations,
many games are won or lost due to middlegame tactics, and many of the common
checkmate patterns rely on tactics for their implementation.
When I first started teaching, I was frustrated by the search for material on
tactics. Most of what was available was either too difficult for beginners, or
was not thematic in approach. I couldn’t find a book that broke the patterns
down in the way my beginning students needed. I started borrowing a
little here, a little there, and finally realized I would have to create my own
materials. The more I learned about teaching, the more I learned what my
students needed, and the better I was able to construct puzzles to help them
learn in an organized, sequential way.
My first training was as a musician. I spent thousands of hours practicing
scales, intervals, and many other exercises to master my craft. These
technical exercises are based on the idea that musicians’ fingers and ears
must have an automatic response to the thousands of musical patterns they
perform. Since repetition is the mother of retention, musicians practice
these patterns over and over and over.
This book, then, is a chess version of music technique books. First, the
students are given a very basic idea, or pattern, and then they have a chance
to practice it with many examples. Just as a musician learns to play one
note, then another, then a third, and then joins them together for a simple
tune, chess players must learn one pattern, then another, and then join them
together for a connected series of moves.
Musicians need ear training; chess players need eye training. We need to
be able to see patterns on the chessboard just as a musician hears patterns
of sound. This can only be done by repetition. We must see the pattern
many times in multiple variations before it becomes an automatic part
6 Introduction
of our repertoire. Indeed, pattern recognition is the key to success in
every field. Whether the arena is woodworking, house painting, writing,
horseback riding, sales, business, medicine, or anthing else, those who have
fully integrated the relevant patterns and know how to appropriately and
creatively apply them will perform at a very high level.
I strongly suggest that, just as a musician practices an exercise many times,
the student go through this book several times. The more times a player
sees a pattern, the more that pattern becomes a working part of the player’s
vocabulary. As the great martial artist Bruce Lee once said, “Without
technique there can be no art.” This is a book designed to develop an
important aspect of chess technique, that of tactical thinking.
t this early stage in a chess player’s development, verifying the answer is
A
critical. For this reason, I have provided answers at the bottom of the page.
The answers can be quickly checked without having to go to the end of the
chapter or the end of the book to find the correct move. The print on these
answers is intentionally small, making them easy to cover while trying to
solve the problems. Once you think you have the answer, check your work by
looking at the correct solution given at the bottom of the page. After verifying
the answer, look at the pattern again to lock the pattern in your brain.
t the end of each chapter there are a few games featuring the tactic
A
presented in that chapter. In each game, one player makes some significant
error(s). Errors in chess invite a tactical response. A large part of winning
at chess is taking advantage of the mistakes of your opponent. All chess
players make mistakes. Recognizing and punishing your opponent’s
mistakes are essential to playing winning chess. An unpunished error can
turn a bad move into a winning attack.
The final section of puzzles, Mixed Tactics Part Two, are a step up in
difficulty from the earlier ones. In the earlier puzzles the tactic is simply
there, waiting for you to find it. In the final section, the student must find the
move that sets up the tactical trick. These will require a lot of thought and a
lot of patience -- two qualities chess players are known for.
If the final puzzles seem too difficult at first, set up the position on a board and
try to figure it out without moving the pieces. The trick is to do them in your
head, as you would if you were playing a real game with a live opponent. This
takes a lot of practice, but the rewards are well worth the effort.
If, after about fifteen minutes of trying to figure out the solution, you are still
stuck, I recommend looking up the answer and trying to visualize all the moves,
again without moving the pieces. After you can correctly see the moves without
touching the pieces, then practice the sequence moving the pieces.
7
 rppp A Relative Pin is a pin against any piece other than the king.
cuuuuuuuuC
CHAP TER 8
{qdwdwiwd}
8 What to do:

Pin {dwdwdwdw}
7 1) Look for enemy pieces lined up on
the same rank, file, or diagonal.
Hold an enemy piece in place. {wdwdwdwd}
6
2) Find one of your pieces that
{dwdndwdw}
5 can attack the front piece and,
{wdwdwdwd}
4
attacking through it like an X-ray,
hit the second piece.
WHA T ’ S T H E B IG ID E A ? {dwdwdBdP}
3
3) Attack!
A pin keeps a piece from moving. A piece that can’t move has lost its {wdwdw)Pd}
2
power. A pin occurs when a queen, rook, or bishop attacks an enemy piece,
and if that piece were to move, there would be an attack on another piece
{dwdwdRIw}
1

behind it. vllllllll

a b c d e f g h
cuuuuuuuuC
{wdwiwdwd}
8 Pieces that can Pin:
In the diagram above, the bishop on f3 attacks the enemy knight on d5. If
{dwdwdwdw}
7 Only the queen, rook, and bishop
can Pin.
the knight were to move, the black queen on a8 would be under attack. The
knight is pinned to the queen. This is called a relative pin, because it is not
{wdwdwdwd}
6
These are the three long-range illegal to move the knight. In this position, moving the knight is not a good
{dwdndwdw}
5 pieces, those that can travel across idea, but at least it does not break the rules.
{wdwdwdwd}
4
the whole board in one move. cuuuuuuuuC
{dwdwdwdw}
3
Their ability to attack along an entire
rank, file, or diagonal gives these
{wdwdwdkd}
8

{wdwdwdwd}
2 three pieces the power to Pin. {dwdwdp0p}
7

{dwdRdwdK}
1 {wdwdwdwd}
6

vllllllll
a b c d e f g h
{dwdndwdw}
5

{wdwdwdwd}
4

In the diagram above the d1-rook attacks the d5-knight, and if the knight {dwdwdwdP}
3

were to move, Black’s d8-king would be under attack. {wdwdwdPd}

2

This is called an Absolute Pin, because the pin is against the king. Moving {dwdRdwdK}
1
out of an absolute pin is illegal, since it puts the king in check. vllllllll
a b c d e f g h

A pin can even be against an empty square, as in the diagram above. Here
the knight is pinned to d8. Moving the knight would allow 1 Rd8#.

68 8  Pin 69
 Pins are a very important part of chess. This chapter is divided into
cuuuuuuuuCcuuuuuuuuC
six parts: {wdwiwdw4}
8 {wdwdwdwd}
8

Part 1 Find the Pin. {dwdwdwdp}

7 {dwdwdpiw}
7

Part 2 Piling On the Pinned Piece. Since a pinned piece can’t (or shouldn’t) {wdwdwdwd}
6 {qdwdwdpd}
6
move, a good thing to do is to attack it again. We call this “piling on.” {dPdwdwdw}
5 {dwdwdwdw}
5

Part 3 A Pinned Piece Does Not Protect. A pinned piece, having lost the {Pdwhwdwd}
4 {wdRdwdw)}
4
power to move, is often not effective in protecting other pieces. {dwdwdwdP}
3 {dwdwdw)w}
3
Part 4 Breaking a Pin, Avoiding a Pin, and Nullifying the Danger of a Pin {KGwdwdPd}
2 {wdPdwdwd}
2
Part 5 Illusory Pins. Sometimes a pinned piece does protect. To make that {dwdwdwdw}
1 {dwdwdKdw}
1
point, we have included a couple of famous examples when a pinned unit
will move, allowing the loss of the queen but winning the game.
vllllllll
a b c d e f g h vllllllll
a b c d e f g h
The white b2-bishop pins the black The black a6-queen pins the white
Part 6 Escape from a Pin. Not all pins render the piece powerless. knight to the rook. rook to the king.
Sometimes there are clever ways to escape.

Pin Examples
cuuuuuuuuCcuuuuuuuuC
{wdwdkdwd}
8 {wdwdwdkd}
8

{dwdwdwdw}
7 {dpdwdp0w}
7

{wdwdwdwd}
6 {pgwdpdw0}
6

{dwdw1wdw}
5 {dwHwdwdw}
5

{wdwdwdwd}
4 {wdwdwdwd}
4

{dwdwdwdw}
3 {)w)wdwdw}
3

{wdwdw)P)}
2 {wdwdwdw)}
2

{dwdQ$wIw}
1 {dKdwdw$w}
1

vllllllll
a b c d e f g h vllllllll
a b c d e f g h
The white e1-rook pins the black The black b6-bishop pins the white
queen to the king. knight to the rook.

70 Pin  8 8  Pin 71
 PA R T 1 FIN D T H E P IN Rook Pins
cuuuuuuuuCcuuuuuuuuC
Bishop Pins
cuuuuuuuuCcuuuuuuuuC {wdwdwdkd}
8 {wdwdwdwi}
8

{wdwdwdwi}
8 {wdkdwdwd}
8 {dwdw4wdw}
7 {dwdwdpdw}
7

{dwdwdwdw}
7 {dwdwdwdw}
7 {wdwdwdwd}
6 {rdwdwdw0}
6

{wdwdwdwd}
6 {wdwdrdwd}
6 {dwdwdwdw}
5 {dwdwdwdw}
5

{dwdw4wdw}
5 {dwdwdwdw}
5 {wdwdwdBd}
4 {wdwdNdwI}
4

{wdwdwdwd}
4 {wdKdwdwd}
4 {dwdwdwdw}
3 {dwdwdw)w}
3

{dwdwdwdw}
3 {dwdwdwdw}
3 {wdwdwdwd}
2 {wdwdwdw)}
2

{wdwdwGwd}
2 {wdwdwdwd}
2 {dwdwdwIw}
1 {dwdwdwdw}
1

{dwdwdwdK}
1 {dwdBdwdw}
1 vllllllll
a b c d e f g h vllllllll
a b c d e f g h

vllllllll
a b c d e f g h vllllllll
a b c d e f g h
5. Black to move.
cuuuuuuuuCcuuuuuuuuC
6. Black to move.

1. White to move.
cuuuuuuuuCcuuuuuuuuC
2. White to move.
{wdwdwdwd}
8 {wdwdkdwd}
8

{wdkdbdwd}
8 {wdwdbdwd}
8
{dwdwdwdw}
7 {dwdwdwdw}
7

{dwdwdwdw}
7 {dwiwdwdw}
7
{w$Kdwdwd}
6 {wdwdqdwd}
6

{wdwdwdwd}
6 {wdwdwdwd}
6
{dwdpiwdw}
5 {dwdwdwdw}
5

{dwdwdNdw}
5 {dwdwdwdw}
5
{wdwdwdwd}
4 {wdwdwdw$}
4

{wdwdwdwd}
4 {wdwdQdwd}
4
{dwdwdwdw}
3 {dwdwdBdP}
3

{dwdwdwdw}
3 {dwdwdwdw}
3
{wdwdwdwd}
2 {wdwdwdPI}
2

{wdKdwdwd}
2 {wdwdwdwd}
2
{dwdwdwdw}
1 {dwdwdwdw}
1

{dwdwdwdw}
1 {dwdwdwdK}
1
vllllllll
a b c d e f g h vllllllll
a b c d e f g h
7. White to move. 8. White to move.
vllllllll
a b c d e f g h vllllllll
a b c d e f g h
3. Black to move. 4. Black to move.

Answers:
1. 1 Bd4 pins the rook to the king.
2. 1 Bg4 pins the rook to the king.
3. 1... Bg6 pins the knight to the king.
4. 1... Bc6 pins the queen to the king.
Answers:
5. 1... Rg7 pins the bishop to the king.
6. 1... Ra4 pins the knight to the king.
7. 1 Rb5 pins the pawn to the king.
8. 1 Re4 pins the queen to the king.

72 Pin  8 8  Pin 73
 Queen Pins Mixed Pins: Find the Pin
cuuuuuuuuCcuuuuuuuuC This is a mixture of pins with the bishop, rook and queen.
{wdwdwdQd}
8 {wdqdwdwd}
8 cuuuuuuuuCcuuuuuuuuC
{dwdwdwdw}
7 {dkdwdwdw}
7 {wdwdkdwd}
8 {Rdwdwdwd}
8

{wdwdwdwd}
6 {wdwdwdwd}
6 {dwdwdwdw}
7 {dw0wdw0k}
7

{dwdwdwdw}
5 {dwdNdwdK}
5 {wdqdwdwd}
6 {PdNdwdb0}
6

{wdwdwdwd}
4 {PdwdwdPd}
4 {dwdwdwdw}
5 {dwdwdwdw}
5

{dwdwdwdw}
3 {dwdwdwdw}
3 {wdwdwdRd}
4 {wdwdwdwd}
4

{wIpdwdwd}
2 {wdwdwdwd}
2 {dwdwdwdK}
3 {4wdwdwdP}
3

{dwdkdwdw}
1 {dwdwdwdw}
1 {wdwdwdwd}
2 {wdwdwdPI}
2

vllllllll
a b c d e f g h vllllllll
a b c d e f g h {dwdBdwdw}
1 {dwdwdwdw}
1
9. White to move. 10. Black to move. vllllllll
a b c d e f g h vllllllll
a b c d e f g h
cuuuuuuuuCcuuuuuuuuC 13. White to move. 14. Black to move.
{wdwdwdwd}
8 {wdwdwdkd}
8 cuuuuuuuuCcuuuuuuuuC
{dpiwdwdw}
7 {dwdwdp0p}
7 {rdbdkgw4}
8 {wdwdwdqd}
8

{qdwdwdwd}
6 {p4wdpdwd}
6 {dp0wdp0p}
7 {dwdwdwdw}
7

{dwdwdwdw}
5 {dwdw)wdw}
5 {pdpdwhwd}
6 {w)kdwdwd}
6

{wdwdNdw)}
4 {wdwhw)Qd}
4 {dwdwdwdw}
5 {)wdwdwdp}
5

{)wdwdw)w}
3 {)wdwdwdP}
3 {wdwdqdwd}
4 {wdwdwHwd}
4

{w)wdwGwd}
2 {K)wdwdwd}
2 {dwdwdNdw}
3 {dwdwdw)P}
3

{dwdwIwdw}
1 {dwdwdwdw}
1 {P)P)w)P)}
2 {wdBdwdKd}
2

vllllllll
a b c d e f g h vllllllll
a b c d e f g h {$NGQdRIw}
1 {dwdwdwdw}
1
11. Black to move. 12. White to move. vllllllll
a b c d e f g h vllllllll
a b c d e f g h
15. White to move. 16. Black to move.

Answers:
9. 1 Qb3 pins the pawn to the king. Black’s c2-pawn was about to promote, but now White Answers:
will take the pawn next move. 13. 1 Ba4 pins the queen to the king.
10. 1... Qc5 pins the knight to the king. 14. 1... Be4 pins the knight to the rook.
11. 1... Qe6 pins the knight to the king. 15. 1 Re1 pins the queen to the king.
12. 1 Qg1 pins the knight to the rook. 16. 1... Qa2 pins the bishop to the king.

74 Pin  8 8  Pin 75