How is your Tactical Awareness? - Beginner to Chess Master #27

you hi everyone it's Jerry this is video 27 from the beginner to chess master playlist a progressive series of videos that is slowly developing the topic here is tactical awareness in this position it's black to move and the rule is if you're going to take the following test to spend no more than 30 seconds on this position black to move what would you do okay times up those of you who spend some time with this especially those who are fishing for a tactic forgive me 1 does not exist ok why would I do this to you why am i starting a video saying it's regarding tactical awareness and then throwing a dud your way a position absent of a tactic well this is something all chess players experience isn't it of course there isn't always a tactic well we train tactics by way of a book or online of course we know there's a tactic there but we don't have that luxury doing when we play now a common question I'll receive go something like this how do I know if there's a tactic when I play it's a good question and one I am looking to help you to answer when you play so how am I going to do this well I'm going to share with you conditions that I look for kind of tactical red flags that helped me to know not when a tactic is there because I can't say that with certainty but what I can say what I feel strongly about is that the more of these conditions that are present the more likely a tactic is present now this video what is it not it is not intended to be some big test the positions the examples I share with you are primarily covering simple tactics and by simple I do not mean easy I dislike that word by simple I mean two three move combinations by sharing these examples these positions the main idea is to simply open up a dialogue I want to be able to share how I think through positions what is it about these positions that is capturing my attention so with that said let's have a look at our first example oh and another thing even though it is not intended to be some big test I do feel that you would you will take the most from this video if you do treat it as a test so when prompted with the phrases white to move or black to move or some other question be ready to quickly hit that pause button okay they're not all going to be tests though this one here is not a test what is one of the conditions I look for when scanning a position for tactics well I'm in particular drawn to my opponents King so I'll playing white in this position I'm certainly drawn to the location of my opponents King and any other piece that may be on the same let's say file in this case King and a bishop on the same file is subjected to a fork same arrangement the only thing that has changed is the rook position subjected to a pin the bishop will soon be one and of course we have the skewer tactic these should all be familiar terms with you I have already covered them same story if they're on the diagonal position of pieces fork pin skewer same story two bishops on the same rank okay there could be a problem there whenever a pawn lands a fork what must be there two enemy pieces on the same rank that's necessary I think about the position of pieces that's one condition and when I say position of pieces I'm thinking about lines and I'm thinking about colors what in the world am I talking about when I say colors I'll get to that shortly position of pieces and a other thing that I think about our pins I just shared with you several instances of a pin fork and a skewer why is it that pins stick out to me more than anything else well pins kind of linger in a position a fork is you know a knight Lanza fork your opponent moves and then you make a move and win material a skewer you land the skewer your opponent makes a move you Bank some material over done with pins on the other hand they're constantly just they're in a position and the position evolves being attentive to pins is very important now before I look at some specific examples regarding pins what's this talk about me being attentive to colors well I found when preparing for this video something interesting regarding the Knights so I'm just going to share with you maybe you benefit from it believe it or not I have actually improved somewhat tactically through this video through preparing for this video so here it goes the king and the Queen same file in this case or of course subjected to a knight fork it could be on the same rank another fork diagonal fork and they could be next to it money next to one another on a diagonal another fork this is part of what makes a knight tricky though our mind has a tendency to think along lines right files ranks diagonals but the knight is that one magical piece that could still land a fork even if the pieces aren't on the same file or rank 9c3 in this case Knight c3 in this case king and queen different location you'll notice something though with all of these examples I just shared with you with the night and it just zipping through here do you notice anything that is similar they're all in the same color right in order for these forks to come about they all have to be on the same color square so this is why it is helpful for me to think more about the night think more kind of color code color coat the night and then color code the night and I'm not thinking about this all the time I'll try to be a bit more specific but before I get to these specifics one quick little tip in this position the king is in check one of the most secure squares for the King to go to is efore in this position Y same diagonal 1 square separating them why is this one of the most secure squares well it's going to take the knight three steps before it could deliver check to the king I imagine many of you already know this but if not I think it's a pretty cool tip to be familiar with any other square besides e for the knight can deliver check that much faster any light square the knight immediately lands a check and any dark square the knight is only going to have to take two steps to land a check efore different story it's going to take three steps now once more drawing your attention to the colors of the night this is when I think about those colors what color square my night is on and then I'm just kind of scanning to see what color squares my opponent's pieces are on my night is on light does my opponent have two or more pieces that are on our white square when do I do this primarily when the night is on ranks four and five now why of all squares or ranks do these stick out to me more than any other well this is when the knight is within reach of that back rank and we know what pieces start out in that back rank and are often there for sometime yeah this is when the knight can land something pretty devastating right Knight d6 winning some material with no forking to rooks and of course if it happens on rank fork and and on rank five these are the primary ranks that stick out to me 97 win something good now what have I just done with this position something asked an interesting question in video 3 of this series I closed out that video saying what square is a best square for a light night or what squares of best square for a black night and I never really intended someday to answer that question but I think I kind of have an answer to that um these positions you see here for the white night I think they're the best squares for a white night I think they're the most threatening squares to an enemy King has it as it concerns as it relates to the enemy King I think a knight on d5 and f5 are most threatening to the black King why well from these the only two squares where regardless of where the king is on castled Castle kingside Castle queenside these are the only two squares where the knight still has two different moves that could give check to the king regardless of where the king is castled or uncle a white knight on a white square is very dangerous to the enemy King similarly a black knight on a black square is very dangerous to the enemy King now these two simple phrases Believe It or Not have been helpful to me in quickly recognizing tactical ideas towards the enemy King maybe it'll be helpful for you I'm just throwing it out there something that was helpful for me that's how I see the board I think more of colors I think more so about colors then lines regarding the Knights now let's have an example position here right out of the opening okay what is going on exactly blacks threatening mate it's defended as soon as this is on board I'm thinking Queen King one day I want a bishop on b5 that can happen very easily d6 would be a great blunder Bishop b5 is going to pick up the Queen okay let's say black is better than that I'm not sure how much better but instead of d6 let's say black plays h6 when the knight jumps into d5 this is again ranks four and five this is where I'm thinking more about those colors knight on a light I'm looking at enemy pieces that may also be on light we have more than enough black pieces on the same color square as the knight in this case a tactic can be nearby d6 in this case it may appear is not a blunder right Bishop b5 does not have the knight support now but really it does Bishop b5 can still be played and after Queen takes bishop there we go that would be a massive fork so again Knights I think about colors especially when it jumps into ranks four and five now the other P word was um pins this is your first pop-quiz white to move what would you do okay here we go best move is f 6 that's a check and if they can goes to the corner clean H 7 is checkmate and if the night is captured it's still going to lead to checkmate based on this condition pin pon can't take the Queen the King s to go to the corner and rook H 1 check me so this little checkmate sequence maintance 3 is based on one simple condition this pin being alert to a pin can lead to many good things let's have a look at another one white to move what move would you play in this position okay now this one doesn't result in something big like the last puzzle checkmate this is much more technical than just a small result here a good move for white is to simply play Knight to deform a move that is available it's tactically there based on the pin of the e pawn all right nope nope on takes Knight because you lose the Queen so after the Queen gets out of the pin now knight c6 okay white isn't gaining any material but white is certainly improved the knight a piece that is far more invasive on c6 than f3 let's go on to another example actually just to kind of get warmed up here in this position it's black to move what would you do okay like to move best move is to take on g3 we're just getting warmed up here Queen takes g3 rook takes h3 and in the end Queen takes Knight this was a checkmate in three puzzle this wasn't regarding pins just getting warmed up just curious to know what you would do in this position is black if you spot a queen takes g3 great checkmate in three position let's go on to another one white to move what would you do okay here we go this right here sticks out to me in this was the rook and the king same diagonal and also the Queen is pinning the pawn to the Queen so this pawn is powerless that's how I see this this pawn doesn't really have the ability to make a capture best move in this position is Bishop to d5 basically winning everything you know good solution here for team black so that's the winning shot it's just a simple idea based on the the position of the king and rook in this case and also this pin let's have a look at another position right here black to move okay the best move in this position is Queen to g3 this position should look very familiar to that puzzle I showed just two positions ago really wasn't a warm-up but rather just kind of a test to see how you're seeing the board right if you if you forgot what that other position look like this is this is the position right where you take here take here and then give checkmate you're doing the same thing in this position right here but you know I'm just kind of doing that as a feeler for you know I don't know maybe you could benefit if you're if you're able to get the first one but you're not seeing this one you know just as let's say you know clearly maybe you're your focus on pins isn't there yet okay Queen g3 it's just the same sequence based on this little pin let's have a look at another example in this position white just played the move d5 black to move what would you do okay this is a poor move by white because it puts this pawn in a pin in okay we just take out a knight here's something to look for when your opponent makes a move now so far I've just shared with you a position of pieces I'm touching on pins as well um when your opponent makes a move are they maybe how are they may be tactically vulnerable well there's a new condition present with this last move isn't there it went from you know a position where there isn't a pin against the king to one where yeah now there is a pin how can you maybe take advantage of this let that be your cue to maybe see these little tactical ideas going from you know position a to position B in other words their where's my opponent deficient any weaknesses tactical weaknesses left behind with my opponents last move okay another position white to move what would you do okay this is a checkmate sequence here we go Knight b6 taking advantage of a pin the Queen swings over black hit only block and that's actually pretty cool checkmate one last one on the topic of pins in this position oh this is a yeah this is an interesting one I was watching a a game not too long ago and yeah this is what happened you ready for this one white played rook to g1 now granted this is a you know a faster time control game so you know as you have to move faster accidents are going to happen but this was a clear example of a player being you know not aware of pins the rook played to g1 this happened okay I'm not sure if I have the exact all the pieces exactly where they were in the game but this this very idea happened you ready rook g1 black repositioned the knight alright there wasn't anything fancy going on in the forward and yeah after rook g1 black needed to recognize there's a pin here what did white do as a follow up well they're able to take on h6 at this point what did black do black saw okay now there's problem here so they wanted to shield that pressure and they played Knight g6 there's a pin here is well light was able to follow up with that move rook takes Knight a clear sign that team white was well aware of pins in the position and white clearly was not okay moving on to some examples regarding position of pieces so again thinking lines the the arrangement of pieces the the alignment of pieces and also the Knights thinking about the color squares for the Knights white to move what would you do okay best move in this position is Queen takes Bishop Queen takes Queen and what condition do we have here light light light there's a knock out Knight takes Bishop Knight takes Queen and if you have lost track white with that sequence has won a minor piece let's have a look at another example black to move what would you do okay here we go Knight on dark Queen on dark how can we create a condition where the king is on dark rook in the corner King takes rook boom another fork is present let's have a look at another example black to move what would you do okay another situation all three are there on a dark square no way to really get here for a fork but there's a way to force the King on a different dark Square Queen takes h2 is the star move and after King takes Queen three pieces all in the same color square Knight takes Bishop another fork on board another one white to move in this position what would you do okay here we go dark dark how to force the King on a dark is what I would be thinking h7 is the way to do it give up the bishop but conditions are now set to land a fork just three more here this is where it can start to get a little bit more involved black to move what would you do okay yeah again this one is a little bit more sophisticated the move here is Knight d5 hanging the Queen seems like you could take the knight not so fast you lose the Queen what is the trick here exactly well after Queen takes Queen there is now this condition and the bishop falls and then the Queen black is banking a minor piece with that sequence another example here light to move what would you do okay now with this example what are we doing we are creating a certain condition currently there are no pins but after the move rook to h8 well first off if the knight takes it's going to lead to checkmate so after rook H a king takes what is black now in black is in a pin is there a way to exploit it you can be sure there is in this case how do we do this Queen h6 check and Queen takes g7 cool little to move combination there to be familiar with based on one little simple condition a pin one last example and then we're going to move on to a different condition this one's a bit trickier black to move what would you do okay a bit bit trickier a bit more technical that's probably the better word to use a best move here for black is to place c4 what is c4 doing well it's forcing the bishop to a square where it's unprotected and because of the bishop being unprotected there's now a pin and because of this pin there's a new move available what does that move Knight to d5 and after Knight to d5 there simply is not a good solution to the attack on c3 no good solution so this is the this is the main trick here c4 mind you you know if this pieces capture this pawn is captured the e4 pawn would fall and yeah Black is for choice in this position but the idea is to create a situation where your opponent is now in a pin and look for a way to maybe take advantage of it know that this pawn is powerless in a particular way in this case still has strength capturing in this direction but not this direction it's not really covering d5 because of this pin okay so just a quick recap position of pieces I think lines I think colors and also of the forks pins and skewers I am primarily focused on the pins because they are something that kind of linger in a position just kind of stick around in positions okay what is this next topic what is this next condition it is unprotected pieces okay now if you've been connected with me for some time I devoted a video specifically to just this condition I believe I titled it chess awareness test it's like a seven-year-old video yeah so I'm kind of you know recapping what I shared in that video with these next couple puzzles so unprotected pieces is a great tactical liability in this position black just played the move Bishop to g4 White is in a pin what would you do in reply to this move feel free to pause the video okay many players I believe would recognize this as a pin and try to do something about it maybe connect nights maybe question the bishop this is something that captures my attention first I see it as a pin in my mind kind of immediately goes to trying to do something about the pin it's like I categorized that move as a pin and then I'm kind of blinded to maybe other ideas that may be present it's not a bad thing to see this move as a pin but I think we can do one better I think I could do one better if I see this also as my opponent making a move with a piece that was protected and now you know placing it on a square where it is unprotected this is a move that white can punish unprotected pieces have zero attackers and zero defenders and similarly I view unprotected pieces as having one attacker and one defender now that may take some work for you to also view the board like that these are sensitive squares okay zero attackers zero defenders one attacker one defender in this position right here we have three rooks that are unprotected not really a way to take advantage of the rooks being unprotected right when the position when when the game begins what do we have for unprotected rooks everything else is defended I don't focus so much on the rooks but these other moves going from a protected square to an unprotected square now that that's something that captures my attention the bishop is unprotected the pawn is unprotected can't really take advantage of that but regarding this one attacker one defender idea f7 is also sensitive and this is where white can pounce with the move Bishop takes f7 pulling the king out so that the knight actually can move with check and then what can I do pick up this unprotected piece a simple and effective tactic that is based on unprotected pieces moving on to not that example this one right here let's see what we have just going through the opening phase now again in the beginning the rooks are unprotected but I'm again not looking so much at the rooks you know how to maybe attack the rooks but certain moves make me think about ways to maybe attack the rook so for example black on move it's the development stage black may be saying well my bishop it's not gonna come out this way let's Fein Quetta the bishop b6 is a serious blunder because white is able to get on this diagonal before the bishop is able to get on the diagonal how well by capturing the night what's unprotected the rook and this pawn right here one attacker one defender Queeny for would be game over black has to safeguard the king with g6 and yeah there goes rook simple tactic based on unprotected pieces now we just saw an example where the Queen took took a step up right right here Queen to e4 got on this diagonal before black at fianchetto very often I believe you will take advantage of an unprotected rook when your opponent starts to get aggressive with one of the rooks when the game begins the rooks are disconnected and after that they usually become connected that's one of the benefits you get by castling right in developing your pieces that's you know your your protect rooks one day by getting your pieces developed at some point though it can happen that your books become disconnected and this often happens once one rook takes a step up in this position white plays the move rook f3 looking for some caveman-like attack looking for checkmate on h7 at this very moment the rook is now unprotected there's a way to take advantage of that in this case with Queen to d4 and there goes the rook in the game for white a simple tactic what am I really looking for here when over a rook takes a step up that's a red flag to me that sticks out to me is there a way to maybe take advantage of a rook post is a rook being is a rook now unprotected in this case yeah let's have a look at another example this one is pulled straight from one of the games I've played online I was playing his wipe my opponent played rook to a5 and I saw this pawn as a weakness so I said I'm going to target it and I did that by making a rook lift I played rook to d3 my opponent fortunately did not spot a good reply here can you see what it is black to move okay a good move here for black is to play Bishop takes f5 with my last move I left of rook unprotected on e1 if I capture the bishop then yeah I'm gonna lose the rook I'm in a pin my rook is now unprotected on a one I'm not sure why this is the case whenever I look to double up on let's say the D file I have a tendency to move the D rook up and then the other rook over but if I was more attentive to pieces being unprotected when I was playing this position this game I would have done it like this rook III it's still gonna take two moves one way or the other but this is a more efficient way this is one that is more tactically sound so you might want to keep this in mind when you're making a little rook lift looking to double in what order should you do it for whatever the reason I think most players do it like this rook up and then the other one you know you move the piece that's already on the file you want to ultimately double on and then you come over with the other one instead of this way anyhow moving on to another example here we go Black's last move is Knight to d7 pop-quiz white to move what would you do okay here we go Black's last move has left black tactically vulnerable I'm sure from you know here experienced player right now listening in you have experienced this and many of the other examples I've already shared yeah Bishop is unprotected with blacks last move and this can be taken advantage of Knight takes f7 or even Knight takes c6 is working throwing a punch at the Queen one way or the other I like Nick takes f7 yeah with this little sequence what has what has white done White's one Upon A to B care about you know when you make a move with a piece is that piece now unprotected or maybe are you creating a situation where other pieces are unprotected in this case yeah you are Bishop on d6 is vulnerable moving on to another one okay here we go now whites last move is d5 pop-quiz black to move what would you do okay now this one you have to be careful with your knight is under fire and you may be very tempted to move it immediately but doing so is not a good idea if you move this Knight let's say here or here the bishop on b4 is now unprotected and it can be tactically vulnerable right Queen to a4 it's with check and the bishop will fall so what you must do is recognize hang on if I move my knight my Bishop is unprotected and this kind of move is having an influence on the state of this b4 bishop yeah you have to take the knight first and only then react to this threat careful moving on to another example this is another one pulled from one of my games I was playing black here and made a poor move Bishop to e4 white to move what move could white play here fortunately my opponent didn't find this move white to move what would you do okay Bishop on e4 is unprotected knight on a5 is unprotected and the star move in this position is Queen to e1 striking it both of these unprotected pieces there's no way out really if Bishop takes Knight white would take the knight here hitting the Queen and only then recapture in the end white would be winning a minor piece I was very lucky my opponent did not spot the Queen to e1 move but had they been more attentive to the unprotected pieces if I was more attentive to the unprotected pieces in this game yeah I shouldn't have been playing Bishop to e4 okay black to move what would you do okay seems like a pretty innocent position but the bishop on b5 unprotected there is this fancy move Knight takes e5 if Knight takes Knight you take the bishop black wins upon and if Bishop takes Bishop the knight circles back I don't know that this has a specific name but I know I think maybe assigning the name Boomerang that kind of comes to mind for me the knight kind of you know coming out like this and then circling back for a recapture it's based on that unprotected bishop and this can happen in many different angles right after Bishop to b4 it's the same story here just on the other side of the board bishops unprotected we once again have this little tactic Knight takes bishop takes in the knight circles back to recapture one more example here this is where it gets a little bit more you have to calculate maybe a little bit more with these after the move h6 what move would you play in this position as white Bishop takes Knight or Bishop h4 okay it would be better to take the knight than to go to h4 if you go to h4 the bishop is now unprotected that should be a red flag and you are vulnerable to the white would be vulnerable to the move Knight takes e4 there is no time to take the bishop because of Knight takes Queen with check and so after Knight takes Knight black takes the bishop black has just won upon with that sequence moving on to another example let's say we see what we have here out of the opening unprotected pieces yeah this is a familiar one blacken move has an unprotected bishop black has with this last move just castled white to move what's a good move here for white okay there's nothing fancy going on against that bishop but with this one attacker one defender this is a familiar pattern to sacrifice a bishop and then go in for an attack against the king with the Queen and the knight you know one of the conditions when f6 is under control and that Knight isn't around to defend here yeah very often there could be a problem when you point the bishop at h7 in this position there certainly is a problem Queen and Knight are in this particular case delivering checkmate with this sequence so it's just based on one little weak point h7 being vulnerable in this case it's unprotected now but yeah once it's the king who has to be the defender and lured out after the castles move that's a problem okay let's go on to another one pop quiz black to move what would you do okay here we go a tactic based on the bishop on f5 so what do we have Knight takes e5 and after Bishop takes Bishop black has this in-between move sidestepping the threat against the night lands a check and only then scoops the bishop up Black has one upon so there's these in-between moves in the game whites last move is Queen c2 pop quiz black to move what would you do okay now there's an open diagonal this has my attention and with the move b5 Black is forcing White's Bishop to an unprotected square so now we're trying to create conditions where your opponent has an unprotected piece Bishop is far more vulnerable on b5 than a 4 this pawn sac sets up in ensuing check against the king in of course against the king a check and then yeah you pick up the unprotected bishop another example black to move what would you do okay similar idea c4 in this position after Bishop takes pawn the bishop is now unprotected and there's a new square available for the Queen so Queen c5 check and then Queen or even Bishop wins apiece we're creating conditions no white on move has just played d3 what would you do as black okay here we go best move efore White's last move left the knight unprotected and there's no good solution here Knights under fire both Knights are under fire one is gonna go down no good solution pawn takes Bishop takes Knight White is losing a piece with this seat this sequence should be extra careful if you play the move d3 it's having an impact on the night on C the knight on c3 is unprotected another example black just played the move Queen to d7 how can you take advantage of this what would you do is white okay here we go Queen to g4 seems simple enough right you might just be of the mentality well let's connect rooks let's develop but what what square have you gone to Queen d7 unprotected square he adds a big problem white is now not only threatening mate but after mate is defended with either f6 or g6 there's the move Knight h6 check and there goes the Queen this is a very common motif this configuration right here Queen Knight unprotected Queen on d7 some other arrangement you could see it of course the different colors okay-y down move has just played Knight c4 how can you take advantage of this black to move okay this is now unprotected white is creating this condition by himself one attacker one defender black can simply take the knight and pick the bishop up with a check yeah there goes the bishop another one white on move has just played Bishop h6 so what can black play here okay the bishop on h6 is currently unprotected and black can capitalize on this by taking with the knight on f6 this is clearing the way for Queen h4 after it's recaptured Queen h4 lands a check and there goes the bishop black has one upon with that sequence so these last two examples one side or the other was putting their piece in harm's way putting it on a square where it's unprotected another example how many more do I have five concerning this unprotected condition last five what do we have here unprotected pieces yeah this is a familiar one to be sure after black plays this last move Queen a5 white to move what's a good move here okay a good move for white is to unleash an attack on the Queen and E addition let's say after f2 d8 light to move what's a good move it should seem very familiar to you with that last example Knight to d5 does the trick here hitting the Queen and after Queen takes Queen this is actually just checkmate last three examples concerning unprotected pieces and this one is likely to maybe pose some difficulty for you okay anyhow white to move what would you do okay a good move here is a four what exactly is a four doing it's pulling a piece to an unprotected square we're creating this condition and now playing the move Queen a3 so this is several moves deep Queen a3 is hitting the bishop and after the bishop goes to b5 the only safe Square White has the move rook takes Bishop unleashing an attack on the Queen that is unprotected right when black starts out with the move Queen d6 you might already start trying to find ways to take advantage of this Queen but this is kind of involved starting out with a four this is a way to do it though rook takes Bishop after Queen takes Queen White doesn't immediately recapture but first inserts a check if black blocks you take the rook first and only then are you taking the Queen after the smoke clears after these seven moves white has won a minor piece a bit more sophisticated to be sure now before I move on to another topic there's just these last two examples and the reason why I'm sharing these two examples is because I want to let you know that having unprotected pieces can lead one into and out of a tactic so for example people in this position it's white to move this appears like it's a very good move the knight has land at a fork it seems like White's winning material but there's a way out for black and it's based on the fact that the rook on a1 is unprotected the rook can move to a a and there is no time to take this rook because black would take actually both rooks best for white would be to connect rooks and black is able to save you know black is not going to lose any material so unprotected pieces can lead one into and out of tactics black found a way out based on an unprotected white rook white was also tactically vulnerable in that position and here's one more example similarly Knights e7 seems great but black would have a fine move countering with a pin highlighting the fact that the Queen is unprotected as well so these these conditions I'm sharing with you kind of merge you know we have an unprotected piece we have a pin going on and yeah they kind of I kind of overlap this is a way out for black in this case so next condition is regarding back rank weaknesses okay black out move in this position just capture the pawn and what do we do we go down and give check me everybody has felt this kind of pain and it's something we can correct pretty easily right this is where we start to learn about creating a flight square why did this what makes a move like this possible why is this back rank mate well black doesn't have adequate defense of the back rank nor does black have a safe flight square now this is the primary arrangement that I think about with back rank mate but it's not just limited to this configuration three pawns in front of the king like this here's some other arrangements that kind of stick out to me when I'm looking at a position this one here right it's kind of like the same thing there isn't three black pawns in the King's way but there's a white pawn that's controlling those squares black may be vulnerable to back rank mates there that's a red flag to me in a position this position right here of course creating a wall same with a knight right here and it could also be just two squares right if the King is on in the corner square you only have to be controlling or a black piece just has to be occupying two squares and just some other quick arrangements I want to highlight all of these are instances of you know they're red flags to me to look out for some back rank tricks how can I take advantage of my opponent being weak on the back rank this is another arrangement a knight if you could somehow get to this square here eh that's going to be checkmate the knight is is no good defender is of no help to black and yeah same story here just working with the King in the corner here's another one not too common and rook on g7 like that but okay there's a back rank mate here a bishop on h7 is well and okay you get the idea let's throw some pieces on the board interesting middle game position alive okay a lively middle game position efore was just played takes takes pop quiz where would you go with the bishop g6 or h7 feel free to pause the video okay now there's no one right answer but I just wanna you know with this I of back ranked weaknesses I just want to let you know that in positions like these if I'm playing as black I'm taking the back ranked weakness into account I know that if I put my bishop on h7 one day I may be vulnerable with my back rank I don't have that flight square anymore so I may think more about going to g6 here I'm not saying one is better than the other in this position because there are many other conditions many other things to factor in about this position like if you go to g6 do you really want to have to cope with Knight h4 with a punch against the bishop circling into f5 probably not it may be best to actually do this with the bishop but I just want to let you know that this is a thought process that this is something I think about when it comes time to make a decision with the bishop because I felt this pain before of bringing my bishop here and at some point it was very uncomfortable when my opponent got a major piece back here I might have had to go into a pin block and yeah I didn't have that square available so it's something to weigh is what I'm getting at and it's based on this back ranked weakness okay another example here okay pop quiz white to move what would you do okay very common motif you can take on f7 and after rook takes Queen this is leading to checkmate here's another one white to move what would you do okay here we go back rank weakness for black Queen h4 excuse me Queen a4 is the star move attacking the Queen attacking an unprotected rook and if Queen takes Queen yeah the Queen is a key defender of the back rank black would be getting mated some other move by black in this position is just gonna end up losing the rook so no good solution here for black moving on white to move what would you do okay back rank weakness here for black white has a forceful way to win this one with Queen g7 check rook a a and black can only block in in the end everything is white is checking his way to checkmate okay another one light to move what would you do okay here we go rook c8 norc's e8 and after the Knight takes Queen d8 is checkmate so this right here kind of sticks out to me at the start of this position if I could somehow get here it's gonna be very good it's gonna be me another example light to move what would you do okay this one's a little bit more involved the star move is rook to d8 well there's a couple approaches here for black one is to take it to Queen but if you do that there's check and then check me the other approach taking with the bishop allows the follow-up Queen takes rook again this is a position an arrangement that sticks out to me and night on this square I kind of see this little wall King takes Queen rook FA is the final move leading to checkmate another example after rook to h5 white to move what would you do okay here we go Queen f6 Queen is a key to the back ranked white is threatening made on g7 after Queen takes Queen this is checkmate another example light to move what would you do okay there's a forceful approach here why can take the rook with's check this is a very common motif give a check with the bishop and then give check like so okay that's basically all the examples I had regarding back rank mates a back rank weakness now I'm not limited to just thinking about back rank weaknesses let me explain if I'm able to control this playing as black now if I'm able to control this G 1 square I start thinking about not not back ranked weaknesses but rather a side file I know that sounds pretty weird side file but yeah if I could control the G 1 square in this case if my opponent's king is in the corner white King in the corner if I can control G 1 and or excuse me if I could control G 1 or if my opponent occupies the square G 1 with their rook now why rook of all pieces I'll get to that in a little bit but if I can control G 1 with a piece or if my opponent occupies G one with a rook it's a red flag for me to think about B side file in this case the H file ok let's see why this is the case ok there are plenty of tactics that can come about on the file so these these arrangements they're red flags to me King in the corner rook posted like so let's see why these little rain engines kind of stick out to me so in this position it's black to move what would you do okay this square is under control there's a nice sequence here it's a checkmate in two wing takes a ch2 and we have something happening on this side file rook h6 is checkmate and it really kicks off again for me controlling that G 1 square or if it's occupied by my opponent's rook why the rook I'll get to that shortly in this position light to move what would you do okay you probably see the idea by now this square is under control there's a nice shot with a queen SAC leading to mate and in this position right here light to move what would you do doesn't always have to be the bishop that controls this square the knight is doing that in this case the star moving this one Queen g6 that's a cool move if pawn takes Queen it is made on the spot and if pawn takes Knight there's a check and a checkmate and one final one if the F pawn takes the Queen the knight could take on g6 and in the end we have this side file me made on the H file okay so why is it an issue sometimes if the rook is on this square well white to move what would you do okay probably see the idea by now Queen takes H and then rook h3 checkmate this is the only piece that is not able to you know in some cases if the if there wasn't upon here and you could give a check any other piece could interpose somewhere on the H file Bishop a knight a queen the rook doesn't have that ability it's just uh you know just gets in the way of the black king if it was a knight if it was a bishop they could move there and then the king could make use of that g8 square okay a nice little sequence a checkmate in three notice doing something slower like this setting up me something not as forceful allows black to play Knight here and cover the h7 square okay moving on to another example White's last move Bishop III black to move what would you do okay here we go Knight check and a simple checkmate and I believe this is the last one the ad is the last one before we go into this next condition white to move what would you do okay Queen takes h7 and oh we have these other conditions factoring it in this case white is able to take advantage of a pin rook h5 is checkmate okay so moving on to another condition there are three more I have to share with you this next one I focus on when playing are limited pieces now what do I mean by limited pieces I mean pieces that have few options and also pieces that have a defensive responsibility now this first example black on move if the knight goes to h5 this Knight is now way short on squares you know before you make a move like this as a black you have to question especially if it's on the edge you have to question what kind of mobility does it really have at most if it's on the edge it has four options but not here not good options at least there's no good follow-up move if the knight is attacked Knight h5 would be poor g4 is going to take advantage of this night being short on squares it is limited and it's doesn't have many options it is limited what's happen to look at another example black plays f6 in this position the knight is once more stranded white can play Bishop takes Knight and simply g4 same story basically as that first example another one black on move has just played Knight to e7 white to move what would you do okay this one's a little bit different than the first two blacks last move you know the night is not limited in any way really but another piece has been influenced by blacks last move namely the Bishop on c5 does not have any safe Square to move to and is you know vulnerable to be for White's going to win a minor piece this is a common thing you may see I know I've experienced it at some point or another I've I've done this and yeah the bishop is vulnerable it's limited short on squares okay you also have to question these positions the Queen gets a little bit aggressive for a pawn grab deep in the enemy territory is there a way out this is a queen trap rook h2 I've had a strong player fall for this idea before surprisingly enough I think they were locked in on a move like rip to g1 but yeah the Queen would kind of have a way out but rook to h2 that's you know queens are goner now this one this position you see right here is not nearly as common as this one well not quite I'm not there just yet one other position before that one white to move what would you do okay best move is B form the queen is very short on squares from c5 even though the Queen is still in blacks house b4 doesn't have many options the only option is c6 and yeah that's a problem 97 and there goes the Queen so the Queen is short on squares in that case and here's the example that is very common common Queen trap the black queen is very short on squares after the move a6 Queen takes b2 she doesn't have very many options star move here for wipe is Knight to a4 and the queen is simply cooked so what am I getting at here limited pieces you have to be careful if you don't have very many options we know a queen center of the board no other pieces present Queen has 27 possibilities if she only has like two or three you better think twice about putting your queen in that kind of situation okay limited pieces pieces that are shortened squares and also pieces that have a defensive responsibility black on move in this position has just given check now if white takes this pawn the king is now a defender now I can't speak about this condition right here without you know without talking about a keyword that comes up for me and that is stability you need to question the stability of your pieces if you're creating this situation where you you give one of your pieces a defensive role well you must question in this case as white if you're gonna make this capture you have to question is my king who is now a defender stable can I rely upon that post for my king can my king be distracted can my king be deflected in this case yes rook to a4 and then takes rook black goes on to win in short a quick little phrase to be familiar with is defenders the king in this case get deflected rook a four does the trick black banks some material defenders get deflected moving on to the next one let's see what we have in this position oh this one's gonna make many of you cringe you ready for this one yeah after the move Knight f4 the bishop is attacked how to defend the bishop what should you do - about this threat a good move is to play Bishop to g6 you would just have a pawn around as a defender here's a move that would make me cringe if I was observing a game I'd be very happy to see my opponent play the move Queen to a5 this is a move if you were ever considering a move like this saying oh well I want to develop a piece and yeah I'll just defend my bishop yeah you have to question the stability of this defender now is it stable absolutely not b4 is gonna hit g4 is gonna hit and yeah Black's losing material so just wanna throw that one out there something certainly to shy away from assigning a defensive role to your queen yeah you better think twice about that you have to question the stability the post of the defender okay going in going with another one hears a familiar trick right out of the opening after the move e5 if black captures on e5 what has just happened well the black King now has a responsibility to defend the Queen and yeah defenders get deflected time you can make a capture okay especially if this is just really new stuff for you here's a quick tip the next time you can make a capture instead of thinking about capturing your opponent's piece think about the defender first of that piece and see if you could deflect it influence it in some way maybe capture it in this case Bishop takes f7 pulls the defender away from the king the defender is deflected in yeah white wins the Queen a very simple tactic out of the opening there let's see about this one yeah I was talking about defenders getting deflected here's a case of after the move Bishop b5 a poor move black and simply take out the defender of the bishop Bishop takes Knight Bishop takes Queen Bishop takes Queen after the smoke clears if you have lost track Black has won a minor piece with that sequence moving on to another one white on move what would you do okay here we go Chuck taking advantage of a pin and you just take the defender of the Queen with Chuck and there goes the Queen another example black to move what would you do okay the examples I've shared so far our pieces defending pieces or pawns it doesn't always have to be like that you could identify defenders you know defenders of specific squares and you could be sure c2 is an important square to defend if the Queen isn't around defending c2 Knight c2 is checkmate so identifying this piece as limited if the Queen doesn't have so many options she has a defensive role defend c2 then move Queen a5 trying to deflect the defender of c2 at least checkmate and there really isn't any anything else that I could do that's so great it's gonna be the loss of a queen or the king moving on to another one black to move what would you do okay this is known as the Siberian trap best move is Knight d4 black wants made on h2 and is striking at the Queen and at night if Knight takes Knight that's checkmate and if the Queen moves well we could take the knight with check and then deliver me after the move Knight d4 black is either going to win the queen or the king black is deflecting the defender from the key square h2 moving on another example how many more about six black to move what would you do okay here we go defender b2 if the queen is not there that's gonna be a problem it's gonna be checkmate how can you deflect the Queen well they also are on the same diagonal that sticks out to me Bishop g5 is the winner you're gonna pick up the Queen or give mate once more like so and if f4 is thrown in you just take the pawn you are deflecting the defender of b2 in this case next example this one could have come about from a popular game that's out there do you know what game that is feel free to comment in the comment section below if you know how this position could have come about or from what game is this position maybe from okay anyhow black to move what would you do okay the best move here recognizing that the Queen has a responsibility the best move is rook check now if Queen takes rook you give me and if ruk takes rook this one's a little bit deeper now the idea is to now follow up with Bishop here deflecting the Queen from the defense of g2 another example white on move what would you do okay best sequence the king is the defender of the Queen how can you influence that defender first with this little check it's a one move deeper than the ones I've already shared check and yeah there goes the Queen deflecting the defender white on move has just played Queen to d2 black to move what would you do okay best move here is to capture on h2 White has with this last move created an overload an overloaded piece the knight on f3 what's an overloaded piece a piece that has two jobs too many it has to watch over not only h2 but also the Queen and this can be exploited with this capture on h2 if Knight takes bishop the queen is lost if King h1 there's a nice discovered check and the Queen will fall so an overloaded piece in this example and after black's last move Queen to d7 there's also another case of something overloaded in blacks position white to move what would you do okay a good move in this position is to capture on h6 what is the overloaded piece or pawn in this case it's g7 after blacks last move the knight lacks some defense and the lone defender is the pawn on g7 who has two tasks defend the knight to fend the pawn after Bishop takes pawn if this then that white is winning upon with that sequence another example the last last hand here this one should be familiar after Queen to d7 white to move what can you do okay here we go once more there is an overloaded piece you can take on h7 so it's the same puzzle basically his two puzzles ago just from a different angle just some new pieces involved but the same idea king in the corner you pick up the queen with the discovered check and we know what happens after Knight takes bishop alright there goes the queen overloaded pieces another example straight out of the opening oh yes this one here this tactic I'm about to share with you is one that I have I must have pulled off over a couple dozen times playing online what is this tactic exactly well white on move makes a mistake very often in this position and it's the move d4 now if you calculate a little bit here you know if I if I was to question if I was if I was to ask you right now does white have enough support for efore the answer would seem to be yes after E for is in if we can count attackers defenders let's see attackers 1 2 3 defenders 1 2 3 it seems fine but it is not because after we make a couple captures like this you'll notice something at this very moment what is it exactly well the rook is now overloaded has to watch over the Queen has to watch over the knight white is able to influence this overloaded piece distract it and yeah black in the end has 1 upon I have done this again I'm not exaggerating when I say a couple dozen times maybe even more happens quite a bit okay overloaded pieces I think I'm done speaking of overloaded pieces I am okay white to move in this position what would you do okay you can create a condition where your opponent has a defensive role rook f8 is a star move could only recapture with the Queen and now we can deflect the defender of the Queen and white ends up winning the Queen like so another example after rook to c8 white to move what would you do okay there's a back ranked weakness here for black so that has my attention and you could interfere with this with the move rook c5 if rook takes rook this will lead to a checkmate and what's another option for black if Queen takes rook we take the Queen and basically the same thing is happening so the star move here is to influence the defender of the back rank rook to c5 does this last two examples concerning limited pieces black on move has just played rook to e8 white to move what to do okay here we go best move is queen g4 with blacks last move the Queen is the defender we can give a check and after Queen takes Queen not recapture straight away we can first take a rook with check and only then take the Queen so a little in-between move is what we call this these situations where you can take a piece with check there may be these opportunities for in between moves Queen g4 is very nice and only then recapturing after rook takes rook with check one last example regarding limited pieces after rook to b8 white to move what to do okay similar ideas the last puzzle this our move here is queen daddy for looking to deflect the defender of the rook there's no good square for the Queen to go to and still be defending the rook after Queen takes Queen we insert this rook takes rook with check move and only then recapture so limited pieces pieces that have few squares can be vulnerable of course and limited pieces I think about defenders and defenders very often get deflected influenced in some way now these last two conditions what are they exactly well one thing that runs through my mind our intersection squares now this isn't necessarily a tactic right like a a fork or an unprotected piece this one's kind of tricky for me to describe I must admit right out of the gates but it's something that really does run through my mind when I play intersection squares what are they well we experienced this very early on when we just start out playing with this scholars mate right the intersection square in this case is a square where two or more of your pieces intersect in this case on f7 looking for me so what am I getting at here well regarding intersection squares my eyes are drawn towards key squares in my opponent's house where my pieces intersect and also two squares in my house where my opponent's pieces intersect so I kind of in other words think for my opponent as if I was playing my opponent's pieces I look at the other side of the board and the squares where pieces intersect really have you know I'm really drawn to those squares more so than any others so let's have a look at some examples why is intersection squares something that sticks out to me well let's start with this interesting endgame study it's white to move feel free to pause the video that's continuation what is it ok well the best continuation is well immediately for me something that's sticking out is how can you you know stop the rook from stopping F 8 equals Queen the way to do that is to interact with this g2 pond somehow get the knight on this intersection Square f3 okay the way forward with this puzzle is to give a check another check and then after Knight to f3 white is gonna go on to win there's no way to stop this pawn from promoting okay now that was an in-game study that's so practical this is something that you would seen in endgame a very common thing you learned this very early on as a player and game situations this square should be sticking out to you it's a nice way to interfere with the rook defending the pawn along a rank that's much more common than the first example I shared with the rook being behind the pawn along a file but yeah this intersection square certainly something that captures my attention like to move in this position what would you do okay you probably see the idea getting to this f8 square Y can start with the check go here in white we'll be getting a queen no way to prevent that intersection square this one happened not too long ago this happened in the Olympiad 2018 top aboard two grandmasters playing white did not come up with the following sequence let's see if you can spot it like to move what would you do okay there is a star sequence that white could have gone forward within this position with the move f7 giving up the rook and then playing Knight to e8 an interesting move that not only prevents the rook from stopping the pond from promoting but the knight notice what it is doing it's stopping the King from coming over to prevent promotion that is a cool little sequence and this square here you know once the pawns are on the seventh rank the second rank you know those squares on the back ring kind of stick out to me oh they're way to put a piece there let's say okay moving on to another one black to move in this position what would you do okay black on move can give check and then make use of this square right here so a bishop in a pond getting to this square is very often devastating this one is leading straight to checkmate another position black to move what would you do okay with that first example you're probably seeing the idea queen pawn in this case getting to this intersection square e one would be very good and black can do that first with a forceful move check and after it is captured we have checkmate another example this one's a little bit tricky black to move what would you do okay first a check and after the recapture at this moment the Queen is the defender of the e1 square it's indirect but she's still the defender of that square and black hand play the move rook d4 deflecting the defense of e1 deflecting the defender after Queen takes Queen black promotes with checkmate so a little in-between move many might think oh I'd can't go here because after take stakes the Queen is recapturing but at this very moment this is time for a deflection move queen d4 is nice okay another one black on move what would you do okay this square right here sticks out to me a knight on once color square the bishop on the other often interact very well they intersect well when they're on opposite colors it's just just how it is the star move in this position Bishop takes e2 and after rook takes Bishop the knight can make use of the f3 square and then deliver checkmate another example black to move what would you do okay similar idea is the last puzzle Bishop takes pawn and if Rick takes its otherwise you're gonna be losing the Queen you get the idea here Knight d3 in this case is checkmate white to move what would you do okay my eye in this position is drawn to a couple things he 6 and f7 star move in this position as much as f7 is defended alright how many defenders four defenders only two attackers this is still a problem for black notice also you might want to take this into account three pieces the Knights you know same color square rook takes f7 star move after Knight takes Knight White has just removed a key defender of e6 and is able to land a really nice fork for whatever the reason I find this kind of tactic pretty cool with the with the knight in the rock kind of taking out a key defender and landing a fork I don't know maybe that's just me anyhow intersection square my I was drawn to that f-7 square wait to move here not really uh a pop quiz with this position a move that I would play in this position is Knight to a4 avoid the knight exchange and really start to look at these squares right here now surprisingly enough there is so many different ways black can go wrong in this position one might think well b7 is under fire so I'm gonna defend it with my queen but that's not a good defense because you could take on b7 and after Queen takes there's Bishop takes c6 that's painful so let's say black does something different rook to b8 well there's an issue with that as well because white can still take on b7 and then take on c6 and white is doing very well in this position once more there's a fork on board and we could even look at different scenarios like we don't have to take on b7 first but rather c6 and after B takes there's Knight takes c6 with the fork so what you were noticing here is that there are just multiple ways where tactics can spring about when you are intersecting on squares in your opponent's camp especially so when those intersection squares are right next to each other there's neighboring square neighboring intersection squares adjacent squares b 7 c 6 sometimes f 7 e 6 next example yeah this position right here I kind of jumped the gun white to move what's a good move here okay there's more than one my eye is certainly focused on f7 it's indirect right the bishop isn't directly seeing f7 but that's still a problem ecigs is hit once indirectly twice a third time there's something happening here if you quickly flash you know I if you quickly flash many of these positions I've shared with you or to an experienced player if you were able to monitor their eyes you can be sure that it's going to be locked in to certain squares and I have no doubt that these two stick out to an experienced player yeah there's an accident that's going to happen here accidents happen Hannah at intersections right yeah there's a problem on a six you could take like this check let's do the other one first and you can go with the night and then go it's check here and if there there's a checkmate if the King tries to run there's a check and then a checkmate let's look at it from a different angle starting with the bishop check if the King goes here that's checkmate and why did I want to do it in this order because well everybody loves to see the following sequence right what is the sequence you'll smothered checkmate beautiful right so another example white pieces intersecting in blacks camp on multiple squares squares that are right next to each other there's multiple you know sequences you could pull off multiple combinations for white that are appealing there very good okay another example what do we have here okay yes I remember there's just so many of these yeah at this point right here white on move this is not a good choice oops this move here not a good choice a good move is Bishop to e3 simply developing defending this isn't a bad move a losing move in any way but I just want to bring to your attention one of the thoughts I have when my opponent opponent makes a move like this I'm taking with the b-pawn and why am i taking with the b-pawn while I want to I don't want to exchange Queens for one I'm taking in this direction and I'm thinking I'm already about converging one day on b2 and I know that it's going to be difficult at some stage more likely than not for white to defend that point and that's just kind of how it is when you you know strike at your opponents at a specific point from different angles right along a file a diagonal or ranked something interesting is nearby so let's see how play develops a little bit more it's not going to take long for a tactic to hit after rook to b8 in this position it's super easy for white to go wrong b-2s under-fire c3 has a some attention b2 has some intention if looked to be one in this position that's a losing move because of Bishop takes c3 take with the pawn you lose the rook you take with the Queen what black can exchange and then take the rook rook to b1 in short is not a defense and there's even another sequence and reply to rook to be one well you also you can't do this you just drop the knight another sequence in reply to rook to b1 is to actually take on B to first just changing a move order a little bit after rook takes there's Bishop takes c3 there goes the Queen yeah a lot of different combinations can come about when your pieces are kind of focused on these intersection squares okay black to move in this position what would you do okay best move here is Knight to e3 so so far I've really been focused on pieces intersecting in a opponent's pawns or pieces but it doesn't have to be that way it could just be you know focusing on a vacant Square night to e3 is one example of that Knight on e3 rook on e3 Bishop on e3 why is this such a good move in this case well for one its landing a fork it's gonna win some material and if the knight is captured there goes the Queen this is sticks out to me you may you know if it was white I'll move right now after the move h3 you may be thinking well gotta go back you know maybe think forward if you're if you're connecting very well like this there may be something interesting 93 is a very good move in this position all right here's another angle position has just shifted ever so slightly instead of Queen on d2 its on d3 there's no pawn on d3 black on move can play the same move Knight e3 once again with a fork if pawn takes you don't take with the bishop in this case but rather the rook hitting the Queen and after the Queen moves there's a discovered check takes discovered check takes the knight with this sequence Black has won a couple pawns and is winning in this position another example how many do I have about five more concerning intersection squares black to move what would you do okay this is a nice interference tactic I think basically everything is on the square c4 Black has two pieces on that yeah I believe every experienced player has fallen fallen for something like this and then yeah you're just aware from it from that point on moves like this are available 9 c4 was checked there's now a disconnect with these rooks and blacks is gonna be winning the rooks or something like pawn takes King takes rook if you take the knight with the knight of the pond there's King takes rook and something like this you're you're winning some material ok intersection square C 4 in this case sticks out to me in this position black to move what would you play okay this isn't a winning contained continuation nor was the previous puzzle but yeah this square right here D form really sticks out to me pawn Knight rooks on that square this move is available after pawn takes knight black intake striking at the bishop and if the bishop moves there would be the move d3 this isn't a winning continuation black can play rook to d2 and we have a bunch of exchanges it's roughly an even position but I just wanted to make you aware that moves like this are possible this doesn't necessarily have a you know a great name but yeah these tactical ideas are present in there you know if you're focused on intersection squares you may be more inclined to spot them okay another example this is from one of my own games unfortunately I did not reply well to the move b4 what move should I play in this position okay I should have made the move Knight to d5 and this takes into account something more than just an intersection Square yeah there's a lot of pieces on board still all pieces on board the bishop on e7 is unprotected Knight to d5 would have been a wonderful move if pawn takes Knight I take with the epon hitting both bishops what did I end up doing something lame I went backwards but okay had I been a little bit more attentive to this intersection Square again this is a faster time control game but still yeah 1985 would have been a very nice move there's so much stuff concentrated on that Square last three examples white to move what would you do okay this may be surprising to you but I wouldn't be you know ask some experienced players show them this position and watch how quickly they come up with a move like Bishop to h6 just kind of out of the blue it seems that you're not capturing anything if there was a pawn here you'd be much more inclined to just chop away but yeah even just going here even though you're not taking anything is a star move intersecting on g7 let's look at a couple variations if pawn takes Bishop there's Queen takes and there's not really a great way to be defending this Knight H flat Knight h5 excuse me defends you can look to deflect white is for choice here white is winning another variation might be to defend like this directly but you can take and then deliver maintenance keep in mind there's also a pin going on here there's no pawn advance to help to have the Queen help defend g7 white is mating from this position but yeah it's all kicking off with some attention to this h6 square kind of a bolt from the blue last two examples you know I've been paying a lot of attention to what my pieces are doing in my opponent's position but again I also have some focus on what my opponent's pieces are doing in my house so white on move in this position has just captured the knight now my question to you is in what way should you recapture and your choices are Knight or bishop feel free to pause the video okay the best way to recapture is with the knight now what's the issue is taking with the bishop well what we're going to observe is that it's very important to keep defended over d6y well there's an issue on the b v square this should certainly capture your attention this intersection square and b5 a lot of the white pieces are trained on that point even though there's a pawn there supporting there would be an issue white could follow up with Bishop takes b5 and computer suggests rook to b8 is best what's the issue with capturing well this night goes on a rampage taking upon hitting the Queen take another pawn with check the castled and then the bishop gets the door slammed in its face White has just won three ponds established a monster night on d6 the black king is on Castle the rook is having a tough day at the office on a che what is this what makes this tactic available well what would keep you from recapturing with the bishop is some attention to the b5 square these tactical possibilities on the be 5 square and circling in to d6 you could even consider d6 as an intersection square once the night is on b5 this can be a big problem okay last example concerning intersection squares black to move what would you do okay best to move in this position is to capture on e5 with check the square that sticks out to me in this position where my pieces do well interacting with one another is on the D 2 square and not just the knight and the rook however indirect it is the Queen has some influence on that square after Knight takes e5 one of the barriers are removed with the Queen Singh that Square rook to d2 have to take and in the end Queen takes Bishop for checkmate this was a checkmate in three puzzle now my final point to share with you is the letter C and the letter C stands for checks captures and checkmate threats checkmate in Ex threats checkmate 1 checkmate - okay checkmate in Ex threats these are the most forceful moves in the game checkmate threats checks captures in some order what have just outlined here if you haven't noticed already I have created an acronym for you that I believe will be helpful this acronym is public and it's a fitting one this is a youtube video this is free to everybody to view and keep in mind that this acronym public position of pieces pins unprotected pieces back ranked weaknesses limited pieces intersection squares checks captures checkmate threats this is not some master list okay this is maybe for you some starting point for improving your tactical vision this is something that you can maybe build on okay so this is just something to get you started just a little appetizer here so let's have a look at some examples now as a close concerning checks captures and checkmate threats so white in this position has just played the move d3 and we're seeing these conditions come together in a very simple way white has an unprotected Bishop white has with this last move just opened up a diagonal this is the first moment where white is now vulnerable to a check and yeah we see these combined and now a check is on board we pick up a bishop we saw this much earlier on but at the time I did not reference checks yeah a simple tactic involves a check and an unprotected piece there's a million different possibilities when you keep those two conditions in mind moving on to another one Bishop c6 is throwing a punch at the pond pop quiz to you how to defend a form okay a way to defend it is Bishop to d3 that's a fine way to do it queen the e3 is another one what is not a good way in this case is to play f3 move your F pawn you're going to be vulnerable to a diagonal check if your castled yeah it's gonna be a problem that it would be a problem here to a simple check and yeah what is just dropped upon so careful are you making a move that is creating an unprotected piece are you making a move that is allowing your opponent to deliver a check these are things to look for before you even make one of your own moves okay this position is one that I played as white line my opponent played f6 I was not alert enough to a nice tactical sequence let's see if you can spot it like to move okay this one has to do a little bit with move order a couple different captures you can go forward with but the best way to approach this is to take the bishop first as soon as f6 is played I should have been thinking much more along you know getting a piece to this diagonal rook takes Knight and then Queen c4 in the end a check and the bishop can be picked up this would have meant a nice sequence to win two pieces for the rook why does the better side why does the winning side with this sequence now let me be a little bit exact here if there are checks if there are captures checkmate in Ex threats this doesn't mean you know there are very forceful moves to be sure but this this does not mean that you should be going for these moves if you if you can make these moves you're not just going to check just because you can just because you know your opponent doesn't have as many options that's not always the best thing to do you always want to have the end result be something positive for you if you could Bank some material okay yeah that's certainly something to go forward with but yeah there'll be plenty of instances where giving check isn't leading to anything good for you we're making a capture isn't benefitting you in any way you want to benefit in some way with these ideas white to move in this position what would you do okay a simple move here is to attack the bishop that is unprotected and if the Queen can get to FA that would be checkmate like it combined these two ideas pointing at an unprotected piece and threatening a checkmate in one there's just no good solution here for black computer says give a check and do something like this or maybe move the Queen but this isn't this isn't going to end well either this is one way the game kid go straight to checkmate black has to just give all the pieces away but the main idea at least at the start of this one is to recognize the bishop as a bit vulnerable and these squares here right around the king is their way to intersect with the rook and there is f8 Queen c5 does the trick so again you shouldn't just check just because you can you want to benefit in some way I'm not sure I actually I blame I blame the commercials that are out there or the films that are out highlighting two players play check oh excuse me play chess and yeah it seems to always involve one player saying check in the clip and the other player reacting like oh I'm really scared you know I mean I'm in a tough spot check isn't always a good thing and this is a perfect example all right this is a case where yes I would welcome check thank you so much rip b1 oh you're gonna give a check again thank you again oh you're inviting me to the g4 square I wanted to be here anyway I wanted to help escort my pawn to promotion land perfect example where these checks do absolutely nothing for black again you want to get something positive if you're gonna go forward with these checks another example just about a dozen left are you still with me if you still are give yourself a pat on the back you have a lot of patience I've said this in previous videos that have gone on for well over an hour yeah if you're still with me you have a lot of patience and yeah that's a wonderful attribute to have as a chess player okay my question to you in this position is is it worthwhile to insert this check before capturing the pun yes or no feel free to pause the video okay the answer to this is no bishop check first allows the King to move in the direction he would like to be towards the center so black has simply helped the King this is still an even position regardless of you know going here straight away or capturing the pond but these little details can factor in and getting a little bit technical now I realize but yeah another position the only thing that has changed is the knight is now on f1 same question is it worthwhile to insert the check before taking the pawn feel free to pause the video Oh yes it is and you could probably understand why the king is now inconvenienced has to go away from where he would like to be namely in the center of the board okay so we're going to consider checks we're going to consider captures but this doesn't mean you we should actually follow through with these things another example what do we have here oh yes something much more practical how many of you in this position playing is white maybe played the move Bishop to b5 check just because you love to give check if you're making a move like this there's a strong chance you haven't seen the video where I covered good and bad bishops Bishop b5 is a poor move in this position for multiple reasons one you are expediting blacks development and two you are allowing the trade of blacks bad bishop for your good Bishop no good you gain nothing with that sequence okay white to move in this position what would you do okay best sequence here is to give a check on b1 looks like it's a ridiculous move but after Queen takes Queen there is no longer a pin white can now promote with a queen and win the Queen so a little bit of a spectacular looking move something a little bit unexpected right giving check and allowing your queen to be captured but okay it has its points here of course another example light to move what would you do okay we have to consider checks captures first we're not always going to pull the trigger but in this case f7 is the only check most forceful move and regardless of how the black King works to me how black recaptures it's going to lead to mate King takes allows rook F 1 and then rook to f8 and if Bishop takes we're gonna have the rook go to the back rank the rook could block first but we just take away and in the end or once more giving checkmate another example light to move what would you do okay this is a pretty cool sequence once more my eye is drawn to this square f7 intersection square this is a star move and after rook takes King Knight Queen can't quite land a fancy fork just yet but the ensuing Queen takes h6 is very nice after King takes Queen the conditions are now set for a knight fork Knight takes rook Knight takes Queen in the end White has won a couple pawns okay another example white to move what would you do okay here we go don't be too tempted to simply give a check and win the bishop wherever the knight goes it's check the most forceful move here is to land a double check less to calculate for sure when your opponent is in double check you can be assured the King has to go somewhere if it's not already checkmate the King must move and double check Knight g5 is the star move in this position if the King goes back that's gonna be checked me and if the King goes to h6 see the move here cool move rook h7 and after Bishop takes rook the King is sandwiched on the H file that's a cool mate another example final five Wow how far we have come white to move what would you do okay white on move can sacrifice the Queen these crazy need to be calculated there often a very forcing move doesn't have many options have to take the Queen or go back if you go back you're getting mated straightaway White has enough material to sacrifice the Queen rook check pawn takes sacrificing a rook even check and now checkmate that's a pretty cool sequence you know the if you're able to force the king up the board you might not need as much material as you might think you could afford to give up your queen in this spectacular way black to move in this position what would you do okay you're probably seeing a pattern now queen g2 is the star move have to take the Queen it looks crazy but yeah you could follow up with another check and your black is simply checking his way to check me in this case final four light to move what to do okay star move here another Queen sacrifice I'm pretty much closing out this video with some spectacular moves these are all these past few have all been played in games pulled straight from games Queen in the corner a check and regardless of how black blocks Bishop to e5 is not quite checkmate then you have your pick checkmate let's go with the pawn that looks cool white is winning looking first at the checks black on move in this position what to do okay I think this is the final one where we have a queen sacrifice Queen to h2 of all moves not capturing anything but it's certainly the one that limits White's replies in the best way there is only one option you might as well first consider those moves to follow up with a check another check only moves in every case for white thus far and black has the time to make a quiet move in the end rook to e2 and there's no good defense to rook g2 for checkmate white has to do something like that but we just pick up the Queen and yeah pick your favorite move as white rook g2 next is checkmate no I actually lied there still some more examples here white to move what would you do okay some still some more flash to go star move is to sacrifice the rook only one reply the Queen only one reply and now we have a cool double check MN checkmate final puzzle final pop quiz really is this one right here and then just some kind of closing remarks white to move what would you do okay white on move pretty neat sequence clean G for Bishop takes Queen this one takes some visualization to be sure black can also sacrifice the rook have to take like this only one reply and then the final move killer bees are delivering checkmate can't even interpose and you certainly can't capture the bishop so I believe that's all the pop quizzes I have for you just some closing remarks here we were looking at a ton of specifics concrete variations through a ton of pop quizzes your way I just want to share some some of the reasoning that goes into certain moves with these last few examples white on move in this position has just played king day each one it's not a best move but I just want to highlight why a move like that would be played King to h1 is what I would identify as a preparatory move it is preparing to play the pawn up to f3 or even more aggressively f4 and white does not want to one day be subjected to a check along this diagonal it may not always be the case the bishop is around to secure that diagonal it's kind of thinking a bit deeper we can't always anticipate how things will evolve in the middle game how crazy it's going to get so before you play a move like f4 sometimes you might want to tuck the King away and then only make this much more committal move like f4 this is taking into account the check condition white doesn't want to be subjected to a check somewhere down the line another example just going straight from the opening this is one of the one of the thoughts I have with this next move after white plays f4 the move c5 is a good reply now there are many reasons why this is the case but the one that I'm thinking about right I can't say the one I'm thinking about most but okay one of the reasons that I make a move like c5 well what am I trying to do well I'm already anticipating the king is going to Castle one day right he can't stay in the center he's gonna have to be on g1 and when he's on g1 these two pawns kind of act as barriers to checks by the bishop or the Queen and I know if I could remove at least one of those two barriers it's much more likely that maybe a check something exciting something good for black will happen along this diagonal okay final position is this one here not just looking at yeah I don't have the full moves of this game but this one I played very recently as black and I made a poor move in this position now before I share with you what this poor move is I'd like to highlight what the computer is suggesting in this position the top two suggestions by the computer rh6 can you see why a move like that would be played well it's creating a flight square for the King and we know that if there's a flight square here black isn't more than likely won't have to worry of back rank mates another move is suggested by the engine rook F to e8 now this last move may strike many as what exactly is that doing right you're going from a closed file to another closed file but there's a very important point behind that I want you to observe the value in other words in rook to f8 rook F to ei there is value in protecting a piece that was unprotected this is kind of like yeah black is once more preparing for something volatile some something crazy is going to happen soon in the center it's going to break open at some stage and if your pieces are unprotected you're going to be vulnerable let me show you how I was very vulnerable in this position I didn't make a prep move like h6 creating a flight square or I move like rook to e8 and you would maybe even go one step further let's say the King goes here you might even tuck the bishop away what did I do the move I played was D five my quick thought this was a faster game but my quick thought was okay let's break the position open I have enough support for d5 let's just play d5 but my quip my opponent was responded very well here captured a bunch of times but in the end Wow look at this position I'm in you ready unprotected Bishop unprotected Knight the other bishops unprotected and my opponent followed up very nicely Knight to f5 there is simply no good solution forming everything is hanging bishop is hanging with a fork other bishops hanging and yeah there's just no good solution to this one right I move like this seems to defend everything right but then we realize yeah this remember that night on a light square yeah he's he's quite the pest that would be a cool move for white and a very painful one for me team black here okay it didn't go in that direction but yeah I was in serious hot water after moved Knight to f5 losing position for me so as a close to this video what do I have to share well again if you're still with me right now if you went through this whole thing wow you have a lot of patience and again it's a wonderful attribute to have as a chess player this list that I shared with you is again not some master list this may be something that is a starting point for you something for you to build on these are skills these conditions I've shared with you being attentive to the position of pieces unprotected pieces back rank weaknesses etc this is a skill you can develop and with some practice you're going to find that your eye for identifying tactical moves significantly improves now I have some suggestions for you with how you can maybe achieve this skill and it's not going to come by playing fast time control games if you're going to develop these skills you have to think you have to think and you have to think slowly about these things you have to play slower time controls is what I'm getting at my suggestion is 15-minute games with increments maybe do one a day or two a day 15 minute with a 10 second increment is a wonderful time control getting in a couple like that every day you could really start to develop these skills and I don't think it is realistic for you to go into this with you know what I'm gonna focus on all of these conditions that I highlighted I just I just don't think that that's realistic so what's my suggestion well my suggestion is for you to go into a game or two or you know focus on any one of these points for let's say a week two weeks however long it takes for you to maybe kind of develop a skill and identifying these things instinctually focus on any one of these things when you're playing your game focus on pins go into a game saying you know I'm really gonna be attentive to me having my opponent in a pin or me being in a pin I'm gonna try and find ways to exploit this and you know same story with unprotected pieces and you know the list goes on the list is there for you your acronym is public it's for everybody so I'm not sure or what more to add I have notes here in front of me I'm just kind of skimming right now I think I covered everything I imagine when I do the editing this video I will have included notes on the side if I've missed something but yeah okay I'm babbling at this point this video has gone on long enough as usual I hope you benefit in some way from this and yeah that's the intention with this beginner to chess master playlist so as usual I hope you got something out of this video and I look forward to continuing this series and producing video 28 in time that's all for now take care bye you

Channel: ChessNetwork

Views: 265,269

Rating: 4.9276724 out of 5

Keywords: tactical awareness, chess tactics, how to find a chess tactic, solving chess tactics, how to play chess for beginners, beginner chess strategy, chess beginner, chess beginner tips, chess beginners guide, beginner to chess master, chessnetwork, chess network, beginner chess, chessmaster, chess master, How-to (Website Category), Beginner to Chess Master #27

Id: fzGKPxJ5NYI

Length: 130min 2sec (7802 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 05 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/umbrellasinjanuary]

Two full hours. Absolute unit of a video.

[u/CubesAndPi]

First new Jerry vid in like 3 weeks

N U T