Though I tend to stress positional understanding,
I am the first to admit that NOTHING is possible
if you have no understanding of tactics. In fact,
this is such an important part of one’s
beginning chess development that I would give
the following small list of “things to ponder”
as the first items on your “must know”
agenda.
1) The center is the most
important part of the board. Strive to control
the key central squares on d4, d5, e4, and e5
in the opening AND the middlegame.
2) Make sure your pieces are protected. You
can’t make advances in chess if you give
all your men away. (To see my articles on hanging
pieces, click on PART
ONE or PART
TWO).
3) Chess is a team game. Use ALL your men. (click
HERE
for my DEVELOP ALL YOUR PIECES article).
4) Get your King out of the center as quickly
as possible! Castle as soon as you get the chance.
(click HERE
for my article on KING SAFETY).
5) Acquaint yourself with all the basic tactical
themes.
6) Acquaint yourself with all the basic mating
patterns.
The fact is, if you want to step
above the beginner level, basic tactical themes
and basic mating patterns MUST be studied intently!
In this article, we’ll confine ourselves
to a quick look at a few Basic Tactical Themes.
BASIC TACTICAL THEMES
There are many basic tactical themes, but the
ones that are the most critical for a beginning
player are:
FORKS
A fork occurs when one piece attacks two or more
enemy units at the same time. Though beginners
often think that only Knights have the capacity
to fork, the truth is that virtually any piece
(including pawns) can accomplish this task. Nevertheless,
Knight forks are the most common kind of fork,
perhaps because a Knight’s “L”
shaped leap is often confusing to chess newcomers. 
Diagram One
WHITE TO MOVE In diagram one, Black is up a piece
for two pawns. This is good news for Black. Unfortunately,
the bad news is that it’s White’s
turn and he has a very annoying possibility. Do
you see it? 
Diagram Two
FAMILY FORK In diagram two, White has just
moved his Knight to f7, creating a “family
fork.” Since Black’s King, h6-Rook,
d8-Rook, and Queen are all attacked at the same
time, huge material losses are unavoidable. 
Diagram Three
BLACK TO MOVE In diagram three, material is even
but White is doomed since Black has a very strong
move. Can you find Black’s killer blow? 
Diagram Four
WHITE TO MOVE LOSES A PIECE Diagram Four: Black has just pushed
his pawn to d5, forking White’s Bishop and
Knight. White will lose a piece and the game.
Pawn forks and Knight forks happen all the time.
Thus, it’s important that you don’t
fall victim to them, and it’s equally important
that you are able to make use of this very effective
theme every chance you get.
PINS
This tactical theme occurs when you attack two
pieces – one directly, one X-Rayed –
on a diagonal, file or rank. A common pin can
be seen in diagram Five. 
Diagram Five
BLACK’S c6-KNIGHT IS PINNED This position features a pin along
the a4-e8 diagonal by the b5-Bishop. The Knight
is pinned to its King and can’t legally
move. If it were White to move he would win material
by 1.Nxc6 bxc6 2.Bxc6+ FORKING Black’s King
and a8-Rook. If it was Black’s move, he’d
do best to break the pin and give more support
to c6 by 1…Bd7.
Our next example of a pin shows a Rook doing the
dirty work. 
Diagram Six
BLACK TO MOVE In diagram six, material is even
but Black, even though he has the move, has to
resign since he can’t avoid the loss of
a piece. Why is he losing a piece? Because his
Bishop, which is pinned to its Rook on d8, is
attacked twice (by White’s Rook and c3-Knight)
– it can’t move to safety since that
would allow Rxd8+. After 1…Ne7 (defending
the Bishop) White continued to milk the pin along
the d-file by 2.e4 when we arrive at diagram seven. 
Diagram Seven
THE BISHOP IS DEAD MEAT It’s Black’s turn but
he can’t save his poor Bishop since any
Bishop move would hang the Rook on d8.
SKEWERS
A skewer is a form of pin, except the more valuable
piece is the first to be attacked (a pin features
the less valuable piece being attacked). 
Diagram Eight
BLACK TO MOVE AND WIN In diagram eight, neither side
appears to have an advantage. However, Black can
make use of a crushing skewer to force victory.
See if you can find it. 
Diagram Nine
WHITE TO MOVE LOSES Black (in diagram nine) has just
played 1…Rd8, skewering White’s Queen
and Rook. White doesn’t want to leave his
Queen on d5 since it will be quickly eaten, but
any move of the beleaguered Queen allows 2…Rxd2
when the extra Rook assures Black an easy victory.
Another skewer can be seen in diagram ten. 
Diagram Ten
BLACK TO MOVE AND WIN White loses this endgame because
of a fatal skewer. Black plays 1…Bc5+, skewering
White’s King and Knight (if White’s
Knight were on e3 and his King stood on g1, 1…Bc5
would then create a pin). Diagram eleven gives
us a picture of this deadly alignment. 
Diagram Eleven
WHITE IS LOST White loses his Knight and, as
a result, loses the game.
Hopefully these examples have shown you just how
powerful forks, pins and skewers can be. Try to
use them in your own games and you’ll reap
many victories as a result.
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