Pin in Chess

A pin is one of the most common yet effective tactical weapons in the game of chess.

Let’s dive into the world of pins in chess and learn everything about them- from what they are to how to use this powerful move successfully to win your games, and how to defend properly against pins.

Here's what you need to know about pins in chess.

What is a Pin in Chess?

Starting with the basics, pinned pieces cannot move without exposing a more valuable piece (check our Chess Pieces Values' article for more info on this). If the pinned chessman moves, the player is likely to suffer a significant material loss. The pin is possible due to the specific placement of our opponent’s pieces. When they are in the same line, we might be able to apply pressure by pinning one of their pieces. The pin keeps the other person's pinned piece from running away.

For instance, if the queen is pinned, moving the pinned piece that protects her would lead to losing Her Majesty.

chess pin animated example with a bishop pinning the knight and rook
The rook is scared and there is a serious reason for this!

It’s important to mention that sometimes, pinned pieces cannot move at all. This is the so-called absolute pin that will delve into shortly. If the pinned piece defends the king, then it can not move by any means, as this will be an illegal move. If you try to do this on ChessKid, the system will not allow you to do so.

There is nothing better than a visual reference:

chess board with a position showing a pinned knight protecting the queen
An example of a pin where the knight can not move unless he is happy to say goodbye to Her Majesty the Queen.

In this case, White has just played “d5” threatening Black’s knight on “c6”. In an ideal world, the player with the Black pieces would love to save the horsey and move it away from the “c6” square. However, in this example, the knight on “c6” and the queen on “d7” are on the same diagonal. This means that the knight is pinned as it protects a more valuable piece, the queen. So, if the knight on “c6” moves somewhere, White will simply play “Bxd7” and win Black’s queen and most likely the whole game.

Difference Between a Pin and Skewer

Now, when we are familiar with pins, let’s differentiate them from another popular chess tactic- the skewer. As we mentioned before, pins are tactics where one piece defends a more valuable piece.

When we talk about skewers, the superior piece is in front of the inferior piece; it's the opposite of pins. With pins, it is the other way around. On the previous image above, the knight (inferior piece) was in front, protecting the queen (the superior piece).

Let’s take a look at this position-

chess board with position set showing an example of how black can win a rook endgame with a skewer
Can you find the strongest move with which Black can win the game?

Here if Black plays “Rh1” it will bring unsolvable problems for White. If they take the pawn on “a2” with their rook, then Black will win their rook with the skewer tactic: “Rh2+!”

example position where black will win a rook with a skewer tactic
Example of a skewer

Here, White’s more valuable piece, the king, protects a less valuable piece, the rook. However, as the king is not able to defend the rook whenever he moves, the rook will be lost (and very likely the game) on the next move with Rxa2!

So, that’s the main difference between skewers and pins.

With skewers the superior piece is in front of the inferior piece. Whereas with pins it is the opposite. As shown in the previous image, the knight was in front and protecting the queen.

Why is it Important to Know About Pins?

As we just saw, thanks to the mighty pin tactic, White was able to win the opponent’s knight. This is considered a significant material gain, especially for the early stage of a game.

Chess rivalries are often decided by pins, and this applies more in faster time controls. It’s one of the essential weapons in the hands of every chess player. Moreover, if you are playing against inexperienced opponents, you will likely have more opportunities to take advantage of a pin.

Which Chess Pieces Can Deliver Pins?

The chess pieces that can pin are all the long-range chessmen:

This means that the pawns, the knights, and the king can’t deliver pins. They have other tricks to cause trouble for the opponent.

Types of Pins

Let's take a look at the main types of pins in chess.

What is an Absolute Pin?

An absolute pin is when the pinned piece protects the king and it cannot move, no matter how much it wants to, as it will break the royal rules of chess.

This is best illustrated in the example below.

chessboard with position showing two examples of an absolute pin
Here we have not one but two examples of absolute pins!

Both the Black rook (on “d7”) and knight (on “g6) are pinned. What’s more, they are in the same diagonal as the king and we have two examples of an absolute pin. Both pieces are stuck and can’t move luckily for the player with the White pieces.

Imagine that Black rook and knight are toys stuck in a sticky bubble gum blob. Just like when the toys get stuck in the gum, these chess pieces are going nowhere! It's like a 'no-moving allowed' party for them thanks to the White pieces having some super-sticky strategy!

What is a Relative Pin?

When a pinned piece has the legal right to move, this is a relative pin. This will be in all cases when the pinned piece is not covering the king. Chess arbiters won’t get mad at you if you try to move your pinned chessmen during an OTB tournament. The ChessKid website will be also happy and allow it. However, you must be careful not to lose a valuable piece.

Here is a visual reference of a relative pin in chess:

chessboard with a position showing an example of a relative pin in chess
This is an example of a relative chess pin. The pinned piece is not protecting the king!

With relative pins, the pinned piece usually doesn’t want to move, but this is not against the rules. Sometimes it may be even smart ways to unpin as we will examine below.

Taking Advantage of a Pin

One very important characteristic is that the pinned pieces lose their defending potential and you can not count on them as usual. That’s why pins give plenty of options to put your opponent in a tough spot.

Here is an example:

chessboard with a position set with an example of how to take advtange of a pined pawn and deliver checkmate
Can you find the best way to take advantage of a pinned Black piece?

In this position, the Black pawn on “g7” is pinned. We can take immediate advantage of that and deliver the beautiful check with “Qxh6+!”. Black can’t take our queen, as this will be an illegal move exposing the king to the fire of our bishop on “b2”.

chessaboard with a position where white queen takes advantage of a pinned pawn to deliver a check
White’s queen takes advantage of the pinned pawn on “g7” and delivers a mighty check followed by a checkmate on the next move.

The only move in this position will be to place the king on “g8” and White can finish off the game with a mate in one. Can you find it?

That’s right, “Qxg7” and the game is over. White wins!

chessboard with a checkmate delivered with the help of a pinned pawn
Just like that, with two moves only, White went to deliver this beautiful checkmate taking full advantage of a pinned piece.

Getting Out of a Pin (Unpinning)

Now, let’s look at the opposite- the defensive side. Can you be prepared to get out of a pin if you ever find yourself on the other team? And let’s be honest, everyone, even seasoned grandmasters, loses games sometimes because of deadly pins.

The good news is that there is a nice arsenal of options to unpin and prevent material loss or even losing the game.

Capturing the Attacking Piece

This is one of the most common ways to break the pin. It is possible sometimes to remove the piece that pinned you shamelessly from the board, and this often will be enough to keep safe.

an example with chessboard where the white knight is pinned but the pinned piece can be taken by another knight
The pin we have on our king doesn’t seem that scary, right? We can simply take the pinning piece!

In this position, we can just take the Black bishop on “e5” with our knight from “f3”. Believe me, the knight will happily sacrifice himself to eliminate the nasty pin from his king. Bear in mind that this will be an equal exchange because the knight and the bishop are of equal value.

Moreover, this would be a smart move too as we are a pawn up, and simplifying the position favors the side with material advantage. This happens to be us in this position.

Get out of the Dangerous Line

Another effective way to run away from a pin is to move your valuable piece out of the way.

chessboard with a position where white knight on f3 is pinned, but white can just move the queen to get out of the dangerous line
In this position, the White knight on “f3” is pinned, however, there is a simple way to get out of the pin. Can you find it?

To get out of the pinned diagonal “d1 - h5”, where our queen is under fire, we can simply move it on another square, and we will be able to move our knight when needed. Just be careful not to put it on "b3" as the knight is keeping an eye on that square.

For example, a move like “Qc2” will do the trick, freeing our horse to roam the chessboard like a VIP at a red carpet event.

a chessboard with position showing how to get out of a pin by moving away from the dangerous line
Now, White’s knight on “f3” can move freely as the queen is no longer pinned.

One additional smart way to unpin is to give a check. This is again an opportunity to move out of the pinned diagonal but this time with a tempo.

an example chess position where White can unpin his knight by giving a check
Can you find a way for the White queen to unpin itself with a check?

In this position, the White queen can use its power and give a check on “a4”. This will not allow time for Black to capture the pinned piece, as they will have to make sure first that the king is safe.

chessabord with a position where White gives a check to get out of a pin on their knight
Just like that White’s queen is unpinned. Hooray!

Overprotect the Pinned Piece

Now, let’s take a look at the same position above. White has another effective way to get rid of the pin. By providing additional protection to our knight, we can relieve the burden on the queen, so she can move freely around the board and put pressure on the opponent.

Moving the bishop to "e2" ("Be2") will not only help Her Majesty the Queen feel safer, but we will also develop a minor piece (one of the very important rules in the opening).

chessabord with a position where White uses another piece to over protect the pinned chessman
With “Be2” we remove the pin from the queen and also develop a piece and prepare for castling. A multi-purpose move!

Kick the Pinning Piece (with Pawns)

Another effective way to get out of a pin is to threaten the pinning piece with pawns (for example). By doing this we will ask our opponent either to retreat from the dream position he takes, or exchange pieces. Both ways, there will be no more pin on our chess warriors.

an example with a chessboard and pinned White knight where pawns can be used to kick the pinning piece
Here we can use "Harry" the “h” pawn to ask Black what they are going to do with their pinning piece (the bishop).

In this position we can simply play “h3” and Black will have to take our knight on “f3”, which will be a fairly equal exchange.

Take into account that we will be setting a small trap with this move. In case Black decides to be stubborn and to keep the pin with “Bh5”, then we may have a small trick for him. Our powerful pawn chain will reveal its strength and trap Black’s bishop. We can play “g4”, and if Black’s bishop retreats to “g6”, we have the crushing “f5” move and the bishop is doomed!

chessboard with a position where White unpins his knight with pawns and traps Black's bishop at the same time
No escape room for the bishop on “g6”! It should sacrifice himself for just a pawn!

Escape the Pin with Tactics!

Try to forget for a moment that the pinned piece can’t move when it comes to relative pins. Or at least it is rarely safe to move.

Sometimes, you can actually move the pinned piece and let your opponent win material, but in return, you will checkmate them! As we know very well what matters in chess at the end is not the material, but who delivers mate first!

There is one famous example known as the ‘’Legal mate’’. It’s an opening trap where White’s queen is pinned, but they find a beautiful way to get away from the situation.

Here is this nice sacrifice:

GIF with an example of the Legal checkmate

 

Can You Find the Pin?

Let’s take a look at the position we are already familiar with (or at least I hope so!)

chessboard with position set where Black has two pinned pieces, but there is one more piece that can be pinned
Black’s rook and knight are already pinned, but there is a way to pin one more piece from their army!

We saw earlier how White has two existing pins on Black pieces. Can you find a way to create another, more powerful pin?

Here is a hint for you. There are actually two ways to create a new pin. It seems now, this small puzzle has not one but two correct answers. Your turn!

If you said moving the rook to “e1” you will be absolutely right! Which rook, you might ask? Well, it doesn’t matter in this case. We can either move our rook from “c1” to the key square “e1”, or we can move our rook from “h1” to “e1”. The result will be the same, no way for Black to save their most powerful piece as it’s not able to move away from the “e” line. Poor queen!

chessabord with a position where White has two options to deliver an absolute pin
It’s not often you will have that luxury to deliver two equally strong pins that will help you win Black’s queen and the game (if you are careful).


There is no way for the player with the black pieces to save the queen. They can only sacrifice her for one rook, but that will not be an equal exchange.

there is no way for the player with the black pieces to save the queen. They can only sacrifice her for one rook, but that will not be an equal exchange.
Goodbye queen! See you next game!

How to Practice Pins on ChessKid?

Now, after getting a solid understanding of what pins are and looking at different examples, it’s time to get down to business and practice some of the newly acquired knowledge. The good news is we have a dedicated section on ChessKid where you can practice Pin Puzzles.

You only need to go to https://www.chesskid.com/puzzles/pin and have fun! Enjoy!

chessboard with a Pin puzzle example where Black's bishop is pinned, but they can still win the game.
The bishop on “e4” is pinned and White threatens to take it with a check. However, Black has a nice counter attack! Can you find it and win the game?

Wrapping Up

You know now what a chess pin is, how to use it to win your games, and also how to escape from this essential chess tactic when you are on the defensive side.

Chess Pin Video

Check out the video below to learn even more about pins in chess.