44 Chess Tactics To Improve Your Game

Introduction

If you want to improve at chess, there are plenty of tactics to try out. But for a beginner, it can be hard to know where to start. What are the basic strategies? How do you figure out which opening moves are good and which ones aren’t? Here are some simple tactics that can help beginners improve their game:

When your opponent has a knight, attack their knight.

One of the most important chess tactics is to attack your opponent’s knights. Knights are weak pieces, but they can be very effective in their own space. The knight can defend its own area on the board and attack other pieces that come near it, but it is vulnerable when placed in the middle of two opposing pawns or pieces (or even one). If you see your opponent using their knight as an outpost from which they want to launch attacks against your king or queen, then try moving one of your pawns towards this outpost so that you can use it as bait for their knight and then capture it!

Don’t bring your queen out too early.

The queen is a powerful piece, but she’s also the most vulnerable. If you bring your queen out too early and leave her exposed, it can be taken by an opponent’s pawn or knight. You don’t want that!

For example:

• You have a pawn on e5 and another one on f5. Your opponent has two knights; one on g2 and one on h3 (which protects the bishop). What should you do? You could move either piece forward to attack either knight with checkmate (but we’ll get into those later). But instead of moving either of these pieces forward, try this tactic: Move your king from c1 to d1; then move both bishops from b7 & b8 respectively down two squares each so that they are both attacking black’s rooks at c6 & c7 respectively; then finally bring out your queen from d2 where she was hiding behind all these other pieces! The result is devastating for black–he loses his queen without being able to defend himself at all!

Learn to spot a mate in one.

The game of chess is all about tactics. You can’t just sit back and hope to win by outsmarting your opponent with clever moves, you need to be looking for opportunities to take advantage of every situation. One tactic that players often overlook is the possibility of mating their opponent in one move (or checkmate). This means that if you play the right sequence of moves, your opponent will be unable to defend himself from being defeated on the next turn. If this happens, it’s called a “checkmate.”

The only way for you not to get checkmated is if there is some way for one or more pieces on your side of the board (that aren’t currently under attack) which could capture an attacking piece before it gets there–and this isn’t always possible!

Develop a feel for what piece you want to trade off and when.

• Develop a feel for what piece you want to trade off and when.
• Knowing what piece you want to trade off is important, but knowing when it’s the right time to do so is equally important.

Let’s look at an example: Your opponent has just moved his knight into your line of pawns, threatening checkmate on f7. You have two options: either capture his knight or move another piece out of harm’s way (hopefully your king). If one of these actions leads directly into checkmate while the other doesn’t, then it’s clear which choice is better!

Be aware of how many pieces each player has left on the board.

One of the most important things to be aware of is how many pieces each player has left on the board. If you have more than your opponent, then you’re probably in good shape. The opposite is also true: if your opponent has more pieces than you do, then they are likely to win unless something changes quickly.

The second thing to keep track of is how many pieces each player has in their hand (and what kind), because this can help determine if there will be any future threats or opportunities for either side. For example, if one player has an extra rook or bishop in hand and no pawns left on his/her side, then it’s likely that he/she will try to trade off some minor pieces before bringing out his/her rook or bishop later on–if he/she does not want his/her opponent’s pawns becoming queens!

Don’t fall into simple traps like “forking” or “discovered check.”

• Don’t fall into simple traps like “forking” or “discovered check.”
• Don’t be careless, lazy, overconfident or afraid to take risks.
• Be willing to lose a piece if it’s necessary for your plan and you know what you’re doing!

Watch out for the “unpin” move that converts a seemingly helpless piece back into a useful offensive unit.

Pins are a common tactic in chess, and the pinning of one piece to another is a powerful way to immobilize it. The most basic example of this is when you have a knight that is pinned to your king–the knight cannot move because it would leave its king vulnerable.

However, there are some moves that can un-pin pieces and turn them back into useful offensive units again! For example:

• If you have an enemy bishop on c5 and your queen on d4 (or vice versa), then you might want to consider moving your queen away from the bishop so that he can no longer attack her directly by moving toward her square (c6 or d5). This would convert him into an effective offensive unit again!

Look for opportunities to get your king into the game early on in an exchange variation.

You should look for opportunities to get your king into the game early on in an exchange variation. The king is a powerful piece and can be used to attack and defend, support other pieces, defend against mate threats, gain time on the clock or even capture enemy pawns.

Keep thinking about checkmate possibilities even after you’ve achieved checkmate – there may be new ways to put your opponent into checkmate by bringing another piece into play! Or perhaps your opponent’s queen is unprotected now, so why not move it? Or maybe you can gain more time on the clock if you capture their bishop with your knight and threaten checkmate again? No move is useless until you make it!

Don’t be afraid to make a move that doesn’t seem to be doing anything. If you can threaten checkmate, protect your king and try to get your opponent into checkmate. You can often gain more time on the clock if you capture their bishop with your knight and threaten checkmate again!

No move is useless until it’s made, so don’t let that deter you from making a decision when there’s a chance for an unexpected result or even just further development of pieces/pawns in play.

Conclusion

So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and start practicing these chess tactics! Remember that the most important thing is to keep thinking about checkmate possibilities even after you’ve achieved checkmate – there may be new ways to put your opponent into checkmate by bringing another piece into play! Or perhaps your opponent’s queen is unprotected now, so why not move it? Or maybe you can gain more time on the clock if you capture their bishop with your knight and threaten checkmate again?”