Chess Basics: Important chess tactics used in the play
Chess is a game of strategy. Any player who takes his/her game seriously understands that he/she needs to devise action plans that would enable him/her to reach his/her goal.
These goals can be both short term and long term. Short term goals are often used as a means to accomplish the longer ones. The ultimate goal of any chess player is to checkmate the enemy king. Therefore, all efforts lead to this main objective.
But before a player can hope to achieve a checkmate, he/she must master the skill of tactical play. Tactics form the foundation of chess as they help accomplish short term goals.
Discovered Attack
As the term suggest, a discovered attack is a threat that the opponent does not often expect because it is made in an indirect way.
The attack is revealed when a player moves one piece out of the way of the other, who consequently has its line of attack clear. This tactic can be a powerful devise to make a capture as the piece being moved can come to a position from where another attack is
possible on the piece which is currently suffering from a discovered one. As the opponent has to cater to two threats at the same time, she usually fails to protect the attacked piece.
This chess tactic has a couple of important variations. If the moving piece gives a check from its new position, the move is termed as discovered attack with a check. When moving a piece causes the discovered attack to result in a check, it is known as discovered
check.
The ideal situation arises when the moving piece gives a check and its movement also causes a discovered check. This manoeuvre is known as the double check. A situation may arise in which moving away the piece causes no immediate check but it can cause a
checkmate in the next move. This chess tactic is termed as a discovered attack with mate threat.
Battery
This chess tactic involves using more than one piece to threaten or attempt to threaten the enemy. A battery is formed when two or more pieces are positioned on the same rank, file or a diagonal in such a way that they enforce each other’s line of attack.
Batteries are commonly used to weaken the defence around the enemy king by eliminating the pieces that are protecting it. They also provide a good mechanism to make exchanges.
According to some experts, the term battery can solely be used when two pieces are in line with the enemy king along the file, rank or diagonal it is positioned at. In such a situation, the movement of the middle piece will cause a check to occur on the
king by the piece standing behind. However, others apply the same term for uncovering such a discovered attack on any piece.
The battery combination that is most popular with chess players is that of two rooks. The two pieces effectively dominate the same file or rank on which the battery if formed. Other than that, an effective battery may also be formulated by using a queen
and rooks, usually by putting the queen in the middle of the rooks.
With that, we come to the end of our discussion about discovered attacks and batteries. Having gone through the article, you should now have a clear understanding of when and how to implement these tactics. In order to further cement your knowledge, go ahead
and play some chess.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely of the writer’s and do not reflect bettor.com’s official editorial policy.
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