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Using and breaking pins

Level: Class F (800–1000)Topic: Tactics30 minutes

In short

A pin freezes a piece. Exploit it by piling up on the pinned piece: attack it again with a pawn or a minor piece.

By the end you can

The lesson

A pin freezes a piece. Exploit it by piling up on the pinned piece: attack it again with a pawn or a minor piece. Because it cannot move without exposing something bigger, it often simply falls.

When your own piece is pinned, you have options: break the pin by moving the piece behind it (e.g. move the king off the line), block the line, or attack the pinning piece — often with ...h6 / ...a6 against a bishop. Act before the opponent adds more attackers.

Key points to remember

Examples

h1g2f3e4d5c6b7a8
Example 1 (Black to move). Exploit the pin. (Lichess puzzle 0Ahyx, rated 929)
Show the solution

45... Bxe4 46. Kg1 Bxf3

a8b7c6d5e4f3g2h1
Example 2 (White to move). Attack the pinned piece once more. (Lichess puzzle 0mLGc, rated 1100)
Show the solution

38. Rg4 Qxg4 39. hxg4 e2 40. Rc1

Practise it

Solve puzzles on this idea: pin puzzles.

Homework

20 pin puzzles. In your games, write down every pin that appears.

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