Exercise 11.1Find the move
White to move
Black has just played 9...♗h6?. Find the move that punishes it.
11
Tactics Essentials · Kapilash Chess Academy
Combining Tactics
Two patterns, one combination
In this lesson you will learn
- How tactics work together in a combination
- Forcing moves: checks, captures and threats
- Preparing a fork or pin with an exchange
- Calculating to the end of the sequence
Every board on this page is live. Move the pieces by tapping or dragging, click any move in the lines to see that position, and press ↺ to start again.
11.1 Combinations
Real games rarely show a single clean pattern. More often, one forcing move prepares another: an exchange removes a defender and creates a fork, a check drives the king onto a skewer square, a capture opens a line for a discovered attack. The key is to look at forcing moves first — checks, captures and threats — and to calculate until the position is quiet.
Diagram 11.1Black to move
Example 11.1 · The Lasker Trap
In the Albin Counter-Gambit, White has just taken the bishop. Black has a stunning combination.
7...exf2+ 8.♔e2 fxg1=♘+! — promoting to a knight gives check, so White has no time to take the queen on d8. After 9.♔e1 ♕h4+ Black's attack is crushing. Every move in the combination was forcing.
Remember
- Combinations join several patterns together.
- Look at checks, captures and threats first.
- Calculate until the position is quiet.
- Every move in a combination should be forcing.
Exercises · Lesson 11
Every exercise comes from real opening play and has been checked with a chess engine. Find the strongest move and play it on the board.
Exercise 11.2Find the move
White to move
Black has just played 7...♘f6?. Find the move that punishes it.
Exercise 11.3Find the move
Black to move
White has just played 6.♘h5?. Find the move that punishes it.
Exercise 11.4Find the move
Black to move
White has just played 10.♖g1?. Find the move that punishes it.
Exercise 11.5Find the move
Black to move
White has just played 13.♘e1?. Find the move that punishes it.
Exercise 11.6Find the move
White to move
Black has just played 5...♗e4?. Find the move that punishes it.
Exercise 11.7Find the move
Black to move
White has just played 11.♘g5?. Find the move that punishes it.
Exercise 11.8Find the move
Black to move
White has just played 10.f4?. Find the move that punishes it.
Exercise 11.9Find the move
Black to move
White has just played 6.♘g1?. Find the move that punishes it.
Exercise 11.10Find the move
White to move
Black has just played 9...♘d4?. Find the move that punishes it.
Exercise 11.11Find the move
Black to move
White has just played 16.♕e3?. Find the move that punishes it.
Exercise 11.12Find the move
Black to move
White has just played 7.♘a4?. Find the move that punishes it.
Exercise 11.13Find the move
White to move
Black has just played 12...♗d2?. Find the move that punishes it.
Exercise 11.14Find the move
White to move
Black has just played 7...d5?. Find the move that punishes it.
Exercise 11.15Find the move
White to move
Black has just played 11...♗e6?. Find the move that punishes it.