What are tactics?
Tactics are the short-term side of chess: moves that create concrete threats, and sequences that force a win. Almost every tactical trick is built on the same idea. You make a move that creates two threats at once, and your opponent only has time to meet one of them.
The tactical motifs
Fork
One move, two threats. Only one piece can be saved.
Pin
The piece can't move, or what stands behind it falls.
Skewer
The valuable piece moves, and the piece behind it falls.
Discovered attack
One piece moves aside, and the piece behind it attacks.
Double check
Two pieces give check, and the king has to move.
Sacrifice
Give away material on purpose, to win something bigger.
Overloading
A piece that protects two things can't do both.
Deflection
Force the defender away, and what it protected falls.
Decoy
Lure the piece to the square where it stands badly.
Removing the defender
Capture the guard first, then what it was guarding.
Trapped piece
A piece with no safe squares can be caught.
Desperado
The piece is lost anyway. Let it capture something first.
Checkmate patterns
Smothered mate, back-rank mate and other mates that keep coming back.
Perpetual check
Check without end, and save the draw.
Three questions before every move
The simplest habit that makes every player better: look at the forcing moves, for both sides.
- Checks. What checks do I have? What checks does my opponent have?
- Captures. Which pieces can be captured, and are they protected?
- Threats. What does my opponent threaten with their last move? What can I threaten?
Make it a habit, and you will find the forks and see the traps before you walk into them. A series of forcing moves that ends in a win is called a combination, and checks, captures and threats together are called forcing moves.
Practice
You learn tactics by solving exercises. Start with the ones on the pages here, and then move on to chess puzzles or the daily puzzle. To see tactics in real games, look at the famous games. The rules for how the pieces move are under chess rules, and the words chess players use are explained in the chess glossary.
Frequently asked questions
What are tactics in chess?
Short, concrete moves and sequences that win material or give checkmate, often by creating two threats at once. The fork, the pin, the skewer and the discovered attack are the most common motifs.
What is the difference between tactics and strategy?
Tactics are about the next few moves: concrete threats and calculation. Strategy is about long-term plans: where the pieces should stand, which pawns are weak and which endgame you want.
How do you get better at tactics?
By solving lots of puzzles, preferably a few every day. The patterns stick over time, and then you see them in your own games.
Updated October 31, 2026