Sharpen up your mental reflexes with these basic yet juicy tactical tests.

1) White has done everything he can to hold the d4-pawn. However, the setup White’s used contains a fatal flaw.

BLACK TO MOVE

THEMES: FORK, UNDEFENDED d3-BISHOP
Our minds are trained to keep pieces away from squares controlled by enemy pawns. Perhaps we need to un-train ourselves!? 1...Nde5! (Made possible by the fact that the d3-Bishop is undefended, and that its Queen can’t get back to the Bishop’s defense. By the way, 1…Nce5 amounts to the exact same thing.) 2.dxe5 Nxe5 3.Qg3 Nxd3 and Black’s a healthy pawn ahead.

2) White’s a pawn up and should clearly win. What’s the prettiest way to add to the first player’s gains?

WHITE TO MOVE

THEME: FORK
Most of the time a fork won’t just be there, waiting for you to execute it. Instead, you have to create the fork, thus earning the right to make use of it. 1.Qh8+! (The tempting 1.Nf5 goes nowhere after 1…Qf6) 1…Kxh8 2.Nxf7+ Kg7 3.Nxd8 with two extra pawns in the Knight endgame.

3) In a solid, old line of the Caro-Kann – 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6 6.Bc4 Qe7+ 7.Qe2 Be6 – White usually answers Black’s threat of …Bxc4 (since White can’t recapture due to the fact that his Queen is pinned to its King) with either 8.Bxe6 or 8.Bb3, gaining no advantage in either case. Grandmaster Hort once recommended 8.Be3, breaking the pin along the e-file and developing a piece at the same time. How should Black react?

BLACK TO MOVE

THEME: FORK
Hort wasn’t paying attention, since 8…Qb4+ wins the c4-Bishop and the game. Thus, Hort’s 8.Be3?? is a game-losing blunder. See, it happens to everyone!

4) Black hasn’t castled, which is never a good thing, but King safety via …0-0 is only a move away. Will the Black King be able to flee, or can White bring down Black’s house?

WHITE TO MOVE

THEME: PIN
The uncastled Black King, the fact that both Black Knights are pinned, and the rather loose Bishop on g4 are all much more than Black’s game can bear. It might seem odd, but 1.Ne5! is virtual Armageddon. Black is lucky if he “only” loses a whole piece for absolutely nothing: 1…Bf5? (Best, as pathetic as it might be, is 1...0–0 2.Nxg4 when Black should resign. However, let’s jerk around a bit and toss in another fun little fork: 2…a6 3.Bxf6 gxf6?? 4.Qxd7! Qxd7 5.Nxf6+ forking the King and Queen and winning a second piece.) 2.Nxd7 Qxd7 (2...Bxd3 3.Nxf6+ Kf8 4.Qb4+ Qe7 5.Nd7+ is the stuff of nightmares for Black) 3.Bb5 and this new pin picks up Black’s Queen.

5) In this game Black has just moved his f6-Knight to d7, hoping to take advantage of the pin along the a1-h8 diagonal. Was this wise?

WHITE TO MOVE

THEMES: DISCOVERED ATTACK, UNDEFENDED PIECE, DOUBLE ATTACK
No, this wasn’t wise at all—in fact, Black’s …Nfd7?? turns out to be suicide. He gets punished because his g7-Bishop isn’t defended. Thus, White forces the win of a pawn by 1.Nxc6! (attacking both the Black Queen and the g7-Bishop) 1…Nxc6 (1...Bxb2 2.Nxd8 Bxa1 3.c3 0–0 4.Nxf7 Rxf7 5.Qc1 leads to the win of the a1-Bishop and, as a result, doesn’t give Black nearly enough for the lost Queen) 2.Bxg7 Rg8 3.Bb2.

6) How is White doing here?

WHITE TO MOVE

THEMES: DISCOVERED CHECK/ATTACK, UNDEFENDED ROOK ON b2
It looks bad for White, but he can save half a point with 1.Rxh4! Rxh4+ 2.Kc3+ Kc7 3.Kxb2 when the resulting endgame is a simple draw (for example, one mindless way to draw—if you don’t know the Philidor Position—is to place your King on b1 and shuffle your Rook back and forth along the 1st rank).

7) White sacrificed a piece for an attack, but it seems the Black defenses have held. Or have they?

WHITE TO MOVE

THEMES: DECOY SACRIFICE
Aside from being a piece up, Black threatens to trade Queens OR to mate via …Qxb2. It looks grim for White, except for the fact that 1.Rh8+! wins on the spot: 1…Kxh8 2.Qh7 mate.

8) Who would guess that Black is ready to lay down his arms in defeat?

WHITE TO MOVE

THEMES: DECOY SACRIFICE, PIN, FORK
White wins the Black Queen for two minor pieces by 1.Bb5! (pinning the Queen and pulling her to b5 and away from protection of the c7-pawn) 1…Bxd5 (the best chance since 1...Qxb5 2.Nxc7+ is completely hopeless) 2.Bxc6+ Bxc6 3.d4 and Black will eventually lose.

9) Both sides are about to rush forward with their pawn majorities. It looks like a race, but instead it’s a rout.

WHITE TO MOVE

THEME: SKEWER
You have to give something to get something: 1.Rxf5+! (and not 1.Bh3 g6) 1…Kxf5 2.Bh3+ followed by 3.Bxc8 with an extra piece and easy victory.

10) Some sharp play ices the game for White.

WHITE MOVES

THEME: CLEARANCE SACRIFICE
White snuffs out Black’s resistance by clearing a way to d5 for the a2-Bishop: 1.Rb8+! Rxb8 (worse is 1...Bxb8 2.Bd5 mate) 2.Bd5+ Rb7 3.Bxb7+ (3.Rxb7 is also very strong, but 3.Bxb7+ is best) 3…Kb8 4.Bf3+ and White ends up with an extra Rook.