Tacticum Practicum
How quickly can you recognize these tactical patterns? Mrs Jessica E Prescott (aka BoundingOwl) has done a lot of different tactics with you. Do you remember them all?! Try the puzzles below and see if you can also name the trick. Click on the links for extra practice.
Practice makes perfect! I'm not going to tell you exactly what to look for up front. Pretend you are playing a match!
1. This is white to move and mate in two. (Ok, I am telling you a little bit...) What is the name of the tactic? What is the name of the checkmate?
Answer: A queen sac DEFLECTION leads to Arabian Mate. If you said DECOY that's fine, too.
2. Black to move and win material. If white isn't careful, she could get mated!
What is the name of the tactic?
Answer: An OVERWORKED queen cannot guard the knight AND the checkmate square on g2. If you said DEFLECTION or DECOY that's okay. It's not the name that matters as much as the ability to see the PATTERN.
3. White to move and win material. What is the tactic?
Answer: REMOVE THE GUARD. Now you are up the exchange!
4. White to move and win material. Tactic used?
Answer: This one is a DECOY. Only slightly different from deflection, but basically you are not capturing anything. You are luring the king away from the rook.
5. White to move and mate in two. Ok, it's true, I'm telling you what to look for here. :) What tactic do you need to use?
Answer: CLEARANCE! Remember Officer Clarence?
6. Black to move and win material.
Answer: PIN! The relative pin on f5 and the hanging queen on f3 make for this nice simple tactic. Bye-bye rookie!
Fantastic! Those are just a few of the many tactics you have learned. Keep it up and you will soon be a tactics master!
Tip of the week: If you get a puzzle wrong, make sure you go over the answer again so you know better for next time.