The pin is one of the most popular tactics in chess. It’s often used to limit your opponent’s options or gain a material advantage. Understanding how to create and exploit pins can give you a significant advantage in your play. In this guide, we’ll explore what a pin is, how to recognize it, and how to use it to your advantage.
What is a Pin?
A pin occurs when one piece is attacking an enemy piece that cannot move without exposing a more valuable piece behind it to capture. The pinned piece is usually “stuck” because moving it would result in losing a more significant piece, like a king or queen.
Pins are created by long-range pieces like bishops, rooks, or queens. There are two main types of pins:
Absolute Pin: The pinned piece cannot move at all because it would expose the king to check, which is illegal.
Relative Pin: The pinned piece can move, but doing so would expose a more valuable piece, usually a queen or rook, to capture, losing material.
Applying Pressure to a Pinned Piece
Once you’ve successfully pinned a piece, the next step is to apply pressure. By increasing the number of attackers on the pinned piece, you can force your opponent to make positional concessions, or in some cases even win the piece. Here’s how you can achieve this:
Bring in Reinforcements: After establishing the pin, consider how you can bring other pieces into play to attack the pinned piece. For example, if your bishop has pinned an opponent’s knight, you might want to bring a pawn or another piece to attack the knight further.
Force a Weakness: By applying pressure, you may force your opponent to weaken their position. They might be compelled to defend the pinned piece with another piece, which can lead to overextension or other vulnerabilities.
Create Tactical Opportunities: The pressure on the pinned piece can create opportunities for other combinations of tactics. Always look for ways to combine tactics when applying pressure.
Example 1:
The Hopton Attack is one of the most popular ways for White to play against the Dutch Defense. Its signature move, Bg5, threatens an annoying pin if the Black’s d-pawn ever moves, constricting Black’s position and slowing down his development.
Example 2:
In this case, however, a pin can instantly win material. Bc5 pins the queen to the White king, winning it on the next move. Keep in mind that even strong players can fall for these tricks, as this position came from a game by two 2200s.
Test 1:
In this position, White has misplayed a line of the King’s Gambit. Find the move for Black that gains an advantage.
The solution here is Bg4! pinning the knight and leaving White in a very uncomfortable position. White cannot stop the followup of Nd4, when White cannot stop Black from damaging his queenside pawns.
Test 2:
White has just played exd5, exchanging pawns and opening the center. Show him why this was a grave mistake.
The tactic for Black is Rxe3!!, where if the White queen recaptures, Black has a killer pin on d4.
Test 3 (Challenge)
White has just played a4, pushing his passed pawn to promotion. However, Black now has a subtle tactic that wins on the spot. Can you find it?
The solution to the puzzle is Nf3!!, sacrificing a knight for an unstoppable attack on White’s bishop. After fxe3 fxe3, White resigns as the threat of e2 and exf1 is unstoppable.
