The Complete Chess Tactics Bootcamp

In order to find tactics, it is good to first know how to think and which moves you should check first when you analyze a position. In this lecture we'll learn this key idea, in addition to introducing some tactics.

Knowing the main goal of tactics will help us understand them. In this lecture, we'll see how one same move can be tactical in one game but strategic in another game.

Knight forks are one of the most common forks. Here we’ll study what makes them particularly strong and we’ll also see the slight difference between a fork and a double attack.

Since the queen can reach many squares on the board, it can easily attack many pieces. On the other hand, queen forks need more specific conditions than other forks to be strong, as we’ll see.

Here we’ll study if the other pieces (rooks, bishops, pawns and the king) can fork and how common these forks are.

Here we’ll study what a pin is used for, which pieces can pin and how a can pin be broken.

Skewers are related to pins, but they are normally more lethal. In addition to that, we’ll see how skewers can be escaped.

We’ll continue studying the most fundamental tactics. Here we’ll learn why discovered attacks are important and when they are particularly strong.

Here we’ll study a specific case of a discovered attack.

We’ll study all the 3 cases on which a check is given: a discovered check, a discovered attack with check and the particularly forcing double check.

A windmill is a discovered check combined with regular checks. Here we’ll learn what makes it so powerful.

A checkmate pattern is a similar checkmate position that can occur in different games. Here we'll practice some of the most common, always using the method that we learned to find moves more easily.

Back rank checkmates are very common. In addition to using it as a direct way to win, they can be combined with other tactics, as we’ll study.

Here we’ll learn a very original mating pattern while studying the most common cases where this checkmate is given.

A clearance is a move that clears a square, a rank (or file) or a diagonal for a piece. Here we’ll study some positions where we sacrifice material to clear space for a piece in order to win a decisive advantage.

Deflections are a common tactic to move an enemy piece away from a square. Sacrifices to deflect pieces are common, as we’ll learn in this lecture.

Here we’ll learn another tactic, which is somewhat similar to the deflection, by studying games that feature sacrifices.

So far we have mainly studied tactical ideas to win games, but as we’ll see in this lecture we can try to force a draw in a bad position by using tactics, including sacrifices.

Since we have already studied many tactics and sacrifices, it is now time to study a more advanced topic (combinations) that will also help us understand very deep moves played by the strongest players.

So far we focused a lot on using 2 or more threats in order to gain an advantage, give a checkmate or even save a bad position.

But sometimes we can focus on idea only and make it work. Trapping a piece is one of them, so we’ll learn the best ways to do it and combine it with other tactics

The main goal of an interference is to block the communication between two enemy pieces. Interferences can also be combined with other tactics to make them a dangerous weapon.

In this lecture we’ll learn how to force your opponent into a situation on which playing will worsen his/her position.

While learning this we’ll learn new ideas that are used mostly in endings: opposition and triangulation.

Creating a passed pawn can be so dangerous that sometimes we can sacrifice a pawn or more for that. In this lecture, we’ll study situations on which a pawn breakthrough can be successful.