Dominance is taking away every safe square from an enemy piece, so it cannot move without being lost, even though nothing attacks it yet.
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A dominated piece is still on the board but can do nothing. Once its squares are gone, the attacker can go after it at leisure, and the defender often has to give it up for a pawn.
How to do it
- 1Find an enemy piece with few squares, such as a bishop or knight near the edge.
- 2Take those squares away, with pawns where you can.
- 3Then attack the piece.
For your level
Watch for dominance against your own pieces too. A bishop that grabs a pawn in the corner is often one pawn move from having no squares.
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
- Attacking the piece before taking its escape squares, so it runs away.
- Covering a square with a piece when a pawn would cover it for good.
Questions
- How is dominance different from trapping a piece?
- They overlap. A trapped piece is attacked and cannot escape. Dominance is the slower version: first the squares disappear, then the attack comes.