Academy | Tactics | Targets | Higher‑value Pieces
Higher-valued pieces are tactical targets because lower-valued pieces, like a knight attacking a rook, can threaten them and force them to move—even if the higher-valued piece is defended.
In this example, the Black king on g8 is exposed, and the rook on c8 is undefended. However, even though the rook on d4 is defended, it is still a potential target for the white knight, since the knight has a lower relative value.
White attacks the higher-valued rook on d4, gaining a tempo. Even though Black can move the rook, the idea is that White can use their extra “free” move to set up a fork of Black’s king and the other rook.
1. Nf5 gaining a tempo by threatening to capture the higher-valued rook. Rdd8 2. Ne7+ Kf8 3. Nxc8
Tempo moves are an extremely important concept in tactical combinations. Even if a potential target cannot be captured immediately, it can often be used to gain time by threatening it while repositioning your piece to exploit other targets.