Defensive vigilance
See your opponent’s ideas before they hit you.
5 articles
- The CCT Routine: Checks, Captures, ThreatsA three-word mental checklist — checks, captures, threats — run in both directions before every move. The simplest method to stop hanging pieces and missing tactics.
- LPDO: Loose Pieces Drop OffAn undefended piece is an invitation. Learn why insufficiently defended pieces fuel nearly every tactic, and how to scan for them on every move so you stop dropping material for free.
- Forks: Spot Them Before You Suffer ThemThe fork is the most profitable tactical weapon in amateur chess, and the most painful to walk into. Learn to spot it half a second before your opponent does: the knight’s mechanics (which ignore alignment), the long-range pieces' geometry, and the decisive reflex on undefended pieces.
- Illusory Protection: When a Defender Isn’t Really DefendingA piece looks protected, so you assume it’s untouchable. But the defender is pinned, overloaded, screened, or removable. Learn to test how solid a defense really is before you move.
- Anticipating Your Opponent’s Tactics: Seeing It ComingAt a decent level you almost never hang a piece for nothing: you lose it to a pin, a skewer or a discovered attack you let happen. Learning to spot those alignments before your opponent is the heart of defence.