Tactical Themes (Patterns)

Roadmap > Tactics > Themes

When you what the common targets are, you should now study the common tactical ideas (patterns, themes) that you can use to exploit the targets. There are many tactical ideas in chess, but trying to learn too many at once can become confusing. Here, the focus is on the most common and instructive tactical ideas that appear regularly in real games.

Exploiting a Pin

Forks and Double Attacks

Discovered Attacks

Skewers

Removing the Defender

Overloading the Defender

Building a Battery

X-Ray Vision

Trapping a Piece

Back-Rank Tactics

Attraction (Decoy)

Clearing a Square

Interference

Capture with Escape

In-between Moves