Chess tactics
Learn the pattern behind the puzzle.
Chess tactics are short sequences that win material, deliver checkmate or achieve another concrete goal. Chessalto teaches the recurring patterns behind those moves, then gives you puzzles to practice recognizing them.
Forks: attack two targets with one move
A fork happens when one piece attacks two or more targets at the same time. Knights are useful for forks because their attacks can reach pieces that cannot attack the knight back. Pawns, bishops, rooks, queens and kings can also fork.
Look for forcing moves first. A fork that gives check is especially useful because your opponent must deal with the threat to the king.
Pins: notice what sits behind a piece
A pin ties a piece to something behind it along a rank, file or diagonal. In an absolute pin, moving the piece would expose its king to check, so that move is illegal. In a relative pin, the piece can move, but may expose a more valuable target.
When solving a puzzle, trace the lines of your bishops, rooks and queen. An opponent's piece may look defended even though its defender is pinned.
Build up from simple positions
The guided path covers 12 tactical themes. Placement helps you find a starting level, and spaced reviews bring earlier material back into your queue.
- Undefended pieces and checkmate in one
- Forks, pins and skewers
- Back-rank mates and discovered attacks
- Checkmate in two, deflection and attraction
- Trapping pieces and promotion tactics
Make each puzzle a small calculation exercise
Before moving, ask what the opponent is threatening. Check your candidate move against their strongest reply. After a mistake, identify the piece or reply you overlooked before trying again.
Chessalto uses puzzles from the Lichess puzzle database, released under CC0. Daily tactics training and spaced reviews are free. You can also try three puzzles on the homepage before creating an account.