In some of the previous lessons we have learned about the pin and how we could make use of a pin in order to win a piece. All these lessons started with a position in which two enemy pieces were aligned with each other. In order to create an absolute pin the opponent’s king has [...]
The Elephant Trap is a famous trap in the Queen’s Gambit Declined. I am not sure why it is called the Elephant Trap, but the name reminds me to an oil painting of Eddie William Powell. The picture above shows a part of this painting. More information about this and other paintings of this artist [...]
Eight tactical exercises (taken from real games) with increasing difficulty
In general connected pawns are stronger than separated pawns, but there are some exceptions. An opposing King cannot stop the promotion of two pawns when they are separated by one or more files once they have reached the 6th rank, while he is able to stop the connected pawns.
In the next diagram White will be [...]
In a smothered mate the mated king is unable to move because he is surrounded (or smothered) by his own pieces. Therefor a smothered mate can only be delivered by a knight. We have seen an example of a smothered mate before in the lesson about the Blackburne Shilling Gambit.
This lesson deals with the [...]
