Deflection is a tactic that forces an enemy piece away from a square or line it must defend, usually with a sacrifice or a check it has to answer.
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A defender can only be in one place. Make it leave, and the square or piece it was guarding is no longer protected.
How to do it
- 1Find an enemy piece holding something important, such as a mating square.
- 2Offer it a capture, or give a check it must answer.
- 3When it leaves, take what it was guarding.
For your level
Ask what each enemy piece is guarding. The one guarding your mating square is the one to deflect.
Check you have it
Question 1 of 1
Play the moves through and count. How much material has the attacker won?
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Common mistakes
- Offering a sacrifice the opponent can decline.
- Deflecting a defender when a second piece guards the same square.
Questions
- What is the difference between deflection and decoy?
- Deflection pulls a piece away from a square it must guard. A decoy lures a piece onto a particular square, where a tactic then works against it.