Take your bishop out from the back row and move it to c4 to put pressure on your opponent’s pawn, which they’ll typically follow by moving a knight to c6. Develop your queen to h5 so it’s attacking the same pawn as your bishop. Your opponent will move their other knight to f6 to put pressure on your queen. Finally, capture the pawn on f7 with your queen to force the checkmate. Your opponent can’t attack the queen with their king since you could capture it with your bishop in the next turn. If you’re playing against someone who’s experienced, they may defend with their queen or a pawn to stop your attack.
Move your knight to f3, which your opponent will usually mirror with a knight to c6. Slide your bishop to c4 and let your opponent respond by moving a pawn to d6. Put your other knight on c3. Your opponent will move their bishop to g4. Put a pawn to h3 to force their bishop back to h5. Capture the pawn on c5 with your knight. Your opponent will capture your queen with their bishop. Take the pawn on f7 with your bishop to put them in check. They will move their king to e7. Put them in checkmate by moving your other knight to d5.
It’s tempting to capture your opponent’s pawn on your second turn, but leave it alone or else your trap won’t work. Instead, place your knight on f3. Your opponent will capture your pawn on e4. Respond by moving the knight to g5. Your opponent’s most logical move will be moving a knight to f6 to protect the pawn. Move your queen’s pawn to d3 and let your opponent capture it. Capture your opponent’s pawn on d3 with a bishop. Your opponent will typically put a pawn on h6 to pressure your knight. Take the pawn on f7 with your knight. Your opponent will capture your knight with their king. Move your bishop to g6 to put them in check. Your opponent has to capture the bishop, but it gives you a straight shot to capture their queen with your queen.
Move your king’s pawn to e4 and let your opponent capture it. Play your knight out to c3 and let your opponent move their knight to f6. Sacrifice a pawn by moving it to f3 so your opponent captures it with their pawn. Immediately capture their pawn with your queen. They will usually move their queen to d4 to capture a pawn. Move your bishop to e3 to put pressure on their queen. They will move their queen to b4. Castle on the king’s side so your rook is on d1. Your opponent will typically move a bishop to g4. Move your knight to b5 and let your opponent capture your queen. Finally, move your knight to c7 to force a checkmate.
Bring move your knight to c6. Let them move their bishop to c4 Move the same knight again to d4. Your opponent will capture the pawn on e5. Bring your queen out to g5. Your opponent will usually capture a pawn at f7 to put pressure on your queen. If your opponent doesn’t capture your pawns, then this trap won’t work. Use your queen to capture the pawn at g2. To protect their rook, your opponent will move it f1. Move your queen back to capture the knight at e4. Your opponent has to move their bishop to e2 to protect their king. Place your knight on f3 to force a checkmate.
Move your king’s pawn to e6 in response. Let them move a knight to c3. Develop your knight to f6. Your opponent will bring their bishop to g5. Put your other knight on d7 in front of your queen. Your opponent will capture on d5. Capture on d5 with your pawn from e6. Let your opponent capture the pawn with your knight. Move your knight from f6 to d5 to capture. Their bishop will capture your queen. Place your bishop on b4. They will protect their king with their queen, but you can immediately capture it.
Develop your knight to c6, which they will respond with moving their knight to f3. Bring your queen to e7 and let them move their bishop to f4. Play your queen to b4 to put them in check. They will move their bishop to d2 to protect the king. Instead of capturing the bishop, capture the pawn on b2 with your queen. They will move their bishop to c3. Respond with a bishop to b4. Your opponent will typically move their queen to d2. Capture their bishop on c3 with your bishop. From there, no matter how your opponent moves, you’ll be able to capture a few of their pieces or put them in checkmate. If they capture your bishop with their queen, you can move your queen to c1 and force checkmate. If they capture with their knight, you can capture their rook on a1 and win the game as well.
Bring your knight to c6. They’ll usually move their bishop to b5. Rather than avoiding their attack, play your other knight out to f6. Your opponent will castle to protect their king. Move your knight from f6 to g4. Your opponent will pressure your knight with a pawn to h3. Play a pawn to h5. Let them capture your knight on g4. Capture on g4 with your pawn. They will move their knight back to e1. Finally, bring your queen out to h4 to put pressure on their king.
This tactic is known as a “fork. ” If you can, try to find a square where you can target the king and queen at the same time. Your opponent will have to move their king to avoid losing so you’ll be able to capture the queen.
If you’re lucky, your opponent might not even notice you pinned them and you can capture a strong piece like a rook or queen.
If your opponent doesn’t move the stronger piece on their turn, then make sure you capture on your turn before they notice!
Be careful that the piece you’re attacking can’t capture your piece. For example, you can’t really capture a queen with a discovered attack since it can move in any direction. A discover check is a type of discovered attack. In discovered checks, the piece previously blocked will check the king.
This only works when there are still a lot of pieces on the board since more open space gives your opponent an opportunity to escape.
You will usually lose a piece using this tactic, but you will still have a pretty even playing field since you get to capture one in response.
