Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Chapter 1 – Double attack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Pattern 1 Increasing pawn tension for a pivotal pawn fork . . . . . . . 15
Pattern 2 Releasing tension for a pivotal pawn fork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Pattern 3 An anti-positional capture to fork or trap a piece . . . . . . . 19
Pattern 4 Sacrificing the rook for a bishop fork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Pattern 5 A queen sacrifice in the corner for a knight fork . . . . . . . 24
Pattern 6 A queen’s attack on the central king and a loose piece . . 26
Pattern 7 Queenside castling with a double threat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Flash Cards 1-7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Chapter 2 – Discovered attacks and line clearances . . . . . . . . 34

Pattern 8 The ♗+♙ versus ♗ discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Pattern 9 The Queen’s Indian discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Pattern 10 The carousel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Pattern 11 The knight and bishop collaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Pattern 12 The desperado capture sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Pattern 13 The ♕+♘ versus ♕ discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Pattern 14 The ♕+♘ double threat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Pattern 15 The Milner-Barry Gambit trick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Pattern 16 The reversed windmill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Pattern 17 The rook and bishop double check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Pattern 18 The windmill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Pattern 19 The counter-discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Pattern 20 The back-rank clearance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Pattern 21 Clearing with the queen and bishop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Flash Cards 8-21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Chapter 3 – Skewers and pins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Pattern 22 The bishop skewer on the a3-f8/f1-a6 diagonal . . . . . . . . 88
Pattern 23 Sacrificing a rook for an absolute skewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Pattern 24 Decoying for an absolute pin on the a2-g8/g1-a7 diagonal . 93
Pattern 25 Exploiting a pin on the knight along the a4-e8/e1-a5 diagonal . 95

5
 100 Tactical Patterns You Must Know

Pattern 26 The back-rank pin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Pattern 27 Attacking the pinned g2/g7-pawn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Pattern 28 The pinned f2/f7-pawn is a poor defender . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Pattern 29 The eternal pin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Pattern 30 Saint Andrew’s Cross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Pattern 31 The Maltese Cross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Pattern 32 The Oblique Cross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Pattern 33 Power play with queen and rook in the opening . . . . . . 116
Flash Cards 22-33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Chapter 4 – Pinning bishop versus ♕+♘ battery . . . . . . . . . 124

Pattern 34 Moving the pinned knight with check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Pattern 35 Moving the pinned knight to attack f2/f7 . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Pattern 36 Moving the pinned knight to exploit the a4-e8/e1-a5 diagonal . . 131
Pattern 37 Moving the pinned knight to open the e-file . . . . . . . . . 134
Pattern 38 Moving the pinned knight with an attack . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Flash Cards 34-38 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Chapter 5 – Elimination of the defence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Pattern 39 Deflecting the king’s queen protection with the bishop . . 141
Pattern 40 Deflecting the king’s rook protection with the bishop . 145
Pattern 41 The hook-and-ladder trick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Pattern 42 The extended hook-and-ladder trick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Pattern 43 The dual back-rank rook sacrifice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Pattern 44 Deflecting the king’s queen protection with the rook . 153
Pattern 45 Deflecting the queen’s bishop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Pattern 46 Deflecting the king’s bishop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Pattern 47 Exploiting the f3/f6-square . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Pattern 48 The Smith-Morra Gambit trick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Pattern 49 Exchanging queens for a double threat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Flash Cards 39-49 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Chapter 6 – Trapping pieces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Pattern 50 The en passant trap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Pattern 51 The ingenious pawn thrust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Pattern 52 Noah’s Ark trap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

6
 Contents

Pattern 53 Shutting off the diagonal from the bishop . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Pattern 54 Shutting in the Bobby Fischer bishop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Pattern 55 Trapping the knight on the edge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Pattern 56 The knight retreat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Pattern 57 Trapping the rook in the corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Pattern 58 Trapping the queen in the corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Pattern 59 Trapping the queen on b2/b7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Pattern 60 Obstructing the queen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Pattern 61 Trapping the queen with a twist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205
Pattern 62 Trapping the queen on the edge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Pattern 63 The Rubinstein Trap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Flash Cards 50-63 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Chapter 7 – Promotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Pattern 64 Sacrificing the queen for a double promotion threat . . 217
Pattern 65 The Lasker-Loman tactic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Pattern 66 Luring the back-rank rook for a pawn attack . . . . . . . . 223
Pattern 67 The capture-ignoring promotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Pattern 68 An intermediate check on the back rank . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Pattern 69 Setting up a bridge by targeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Pattern 70 Obstruction for promotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Pattern 71 The skewer promotion tactic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Pattern 72 Two pawns on the sixth/third rank are stronger than a rook . 235
Pattern 73 The powerful rook pawn versus the knight . . . . . . . . . . 239
Pattern 74 The minor-promotion knight fork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Flash Cards 64-74 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Chapter 8 – Drawing weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Pattern 75 A knight’s perpetual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Pattern 76 Nimzowitsch’s perpetuum mobile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Pattern 77 A rook’s perpetual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Pattern 78 The blocking perpetual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Pattern 79 The rampant rook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Pattern 80 Creating stalemate in a ♔ versus ♕ situation . . . . . . . . 260
Flash Cards 75-80 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

7
 100 Tactical Patterns You Must Know

Chapter 9 – Defensive weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

Pattern 81 Avoiding stalemate by underpromotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Pattern 82 Defending against a pin on the e-file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Pattern 83 Defending with and against the counterpin . . . . . . . . . 273
Pattern 84 Unpinning the knight by counterattacking the pinning bishop . 275
Pattern 85 Pushing the b-pawn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Pattern 86 Defending against a double attack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Pattern 87 The ‘patzer’ interposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Pattern 88 The seventh-rank clearance defence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Flash Cards 81-88 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Chapter 10 – Queen manoeuvres and the weak f2/f7-point . . 291

Pattern 89 The staircase manoeuvre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Pattern 90 The ♕d1-h5-e5/...♕d8-h4-e4 manoeuvre . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Pattern 91 The ♕d1-h5-d5/...♕d8-h4-d4 manoeuvre . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Pattern 92 The straightforward ♕d1-d5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Pattern 93 Sacrificing on f2/f7 to enable a knight jump . . . . . . . . . 302
Pattern 94 The knight sacrifice on f2/f7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Flash Cards 89-94 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308

Chapter 11 – Attacking weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

Pattern 95 Two rooks on the seventh rank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Pattern 96 The Greek Gift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Pattern 97 Lasker’s double bishop sacrifice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Pattern 98 Blocking the f2/f7-pawn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Pattern 99 The double rook sacrifice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Pattern 100 The magnet sacrifice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Flash Cards 95-100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

Chapter 12 – Pattern combinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

Index of names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341

Explanation of symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

8
Introduction
Numerous books have emerged on chess tactics, with many more to
come. And that is hardly surprising, given the pivotal role tactics play in
the game of chess. Mastering and applying tactical twists often decide
between victory and defeat.
In most tactics books, there is a tendency for a wide range of tactical
concepts (from elementary double attacks to intricate checkmate
combinations) to be presented in the form of puzzles, accompanied (or
not) by an explanation of how these concepts can be applied in different
chess positions. This way, the reader gets exposed to various themes
and can develop into a versatile player in terms of tactics. You learn to
recognize and utilize different tactics based on general positional features,
which helps you think creatively and find innovative solutions to various
problems presented on the board. Moreover, in unexpected situations, it
enables you to swiftly and accurately respond to surprising moves by your
opponent. In my previous book 1001 Chess Exercises for Advanced Club Players
(2021), this latter aspect is emphasized, while in 1001 Chess Exercises for Club
Players (2019), relatively more space is dedicated to general themes.
In 100 Tactical Patterns You Must Know, I offer a unique perspective. While
presenting a diverse array of tactical themes, I focus not only on general
positional features like undefended pieces or an exposed king, but also
on the specific arrangement of chess pieces, a crucial factor in executing
successful tactics. Focusing on typical piece configurations allows you
to evaluate and decide more quickly and efficiently in certain positions.
Consider the following examples:

Marcin Dziuba 2310 Only after

Frank Erwich 2196 19.♗e4
Litohoro European Championship U16 1999 did I realize what was going on:
♖h8+ followed by ♕h7# cannot be
prevented (19...♖f5 is just a stay of
D_._.tM_ execution). Although this magnet
tL_.j.l. sacrifice is quite standard, I had not
.s.j._Q_ considered it at all.
_.jI_._. Undoubtedly, my belief that the
._._._._ h8-square was protected twice
_._._.i. played a significant role, although
Ii._IiB_ this is based on an optical illusion:
† rN_.k._R the bishop on g7 is pinned, and
pinned pieces are poor defenders.

9
 100 Tactical Patterns You Must Know

Even though I was only 15 years old and not very experienced, I had a
rating of almost 2200 and had solved many tactical puzzles in my life.
Based on that, and on general positional features (black king in danger,
many attackers nearby, few defenders), I should have seen this tactic
coming. However, I was clearly unfamiliar with this specific pattern, and
it would have helped me if I had been aware of it before this game.
Now I will never forget this pattern. Naturally, also because the
emotions of a game influence the way you store something in your
memory, but also based on the way I now look at such a position. I see a
bishop pinned by a queen and a rook on an open file that can attract the
king directly. I immediately know that a rook sacrifice is possible!

More than ten years later, when I was watching the following game
live between two up-and-coming world-class players (aged 16 and 15
respectively at the time), I didn’t have to think long to find Giri’s move:

Wesley So 2656 White has just blundered with

Anish Giri 2588 36.♘d4-e2.
Wijk aan Zee 2010 36...♖f1+! 0-1
Piece placement is the key to
identifying what chess patterns are
._._._.m available in a particular position.
_.j._.jJ The key information here is that
J_._._._ the bishop is pinned by the queen
_J_J_._. and the rook on the open file
Ii._Jt._ can directly attack the king. The
b.i._.dI checkmate itself differs from my
._._N_B_ game, but the pattern is almost
„ r.qS_.k. identical.

Indeed, a player of So’s calibre should have seen this, but unfamiliarity
with this specific pattern led him, like me, to have a blind spot for this
possibility. Undoubtedly, So had solved many tactical puzzles in his life,
but that was not enough to prevent the disaster in the game.

If you haven’t seen something before (or have seen too little of it), it turns
out to be very difficult to find it over the board. And this is the point I
want to make. Having more specific knowledge about patterns facilitates
the process of finding the right moves. Instead of struggling with different
candidate moves, the specific positions of the pieces can immediately tell
you what you can and cannot do in a given position.

10
 Introduction

In short, to become a more balanced and effective player in terms of

tactics, it is important not only to practice general tactical concepts, but
also to specialize in specific patterns. These two aspects reinforce each
other and contribute to an overall improvement in your chess skills.

Why these 100 Patterns?

This book covers 100 Patterns that, in my opinion, every player of club
level and above should be aware of; hence the title, 100 Tactical Patterns You
Must Know. These 100 Patterns mainly focus on tactics that win material
rather than checkmate. The reason for this is that, on the one hand, there
are already enough books specifically about mating patterns (which can
be a welcome addition to this book), and, on the other hand, it would be
a waste to combine these two themes. I believe you lose too much from
both worlds. Of course, it is not that checkmate plays no role in this book.
You cannot ignore the most important topic in a tactics book like this!
Therefore, there are some patterns where the goal is to deliver checkmate
(especially in Chapter 11, ‘Attacking weapons’), but I focus more on the
preparation for it than on the checkmate positions that can result from
it. However, by discussing various follow-ups to such patterns, many
checkmate patterns – in my opinion, the most important ones – are still
covered. By the way, the discussed patterns do not often lead to forced
checkmate, but the opponent must suffer (big) material losses to prevent it.
When compiling the 100 Patterns, I focused on the club player (rated
1400-2000), although the examples in this book will show that plenty of
top players also fall victim to the ‘basic’ patterns. Most of these patterns
were stored in my head because of my years of experience as a player and
trainer. To complement the compilation, I sifted through several tactics
books and my extensive database of thousands of puzzles I have collected
since 2012, when I became professionally involved in chess. I focused on
patterns that appear regularly, but were not yet on my list.
Most of the 100 Patterns are essential because they constantly recur
in games. I have selected a few patterns for their beauty or because they
involve opening traps that even top players often fall into, demonstrating
that this book also suits players above 2000 Elo. In all cases, I believe that
knowledge of these patterns is essential for your chess development, and
thus, You Must Know!

Presentation of the 100 Patterns

Multiple and diverse games and game fragments, ranging from amateurs to
world-class players, are shown for each of the 100 Patterns. By examining
many games, you can more easily recognize a pattern (repetition aids in

11
100 Tactical Patterns You Must Know

reinforcing, consolidating, and automating new knowledge and skills)

and gain deeper insight into the way a tactic can be applied in different
situations and under various conditions.
For each pattern, the basics are presented, followed by additional
insights. These insights cover what to do if a tactic is not immediately
executable or if a more extensive follow-up is necessary. Additionally,
explanations and examples are provided for when the pattern doesn’t work
and to indicate how to defend against it. I have attempted to address as
many aspects encountered in regular games as possible.

Specifics about the 100 Patterns

A pattern may be tied to a specific location on the board, but it may also
be effective in other areas. This illustrates the advantage of our pattern-
oriented approach over a more general one. By focusing on the specific
positions of a few white and black pieces and their relationships, you can
quickly determine a pattern’s applicability. For instance, under appropriate
conditions, a pattern can be equally effective on the kingside as on the
queenside.
Occasionally, I have interpreted the term ‘Pattern’ in a broader sense, in
a more generalized way than usual, emphasizing an overarching concept
rather than the precise arrangement of individual pieces. For example,
when I discuss the rampant rook in Pattern 79, the focus is on sacrificing
the rook to force stalemate rather than where the rook is located or the
type of stalemate situation the defending king finds itself in. Naturally,
forcing a stalemate has everything to do with the arrangement of
the pieces, but since different set-ups of pieces can lead to the same
phenomenon, specificity is less important here.
Finally, for some Patterns, I provide a few bonus examples to offer even
more depth. In such cases, a Pattern is slightly adjusted to demonstrate its
effects.

Book structure
The 100 Patterns are categorized by theme divided into eleven chapters,
and organized within each theme so that the patterns complement each
other as much as possible. This structured approach offers the reader a
systematic learning experience, facilitating a step-by-step mastery of skills.
At the end of each chapter, Flash Cards are provided that review all
the discussed patterns. This feature enables readers to quickly grasp
the fundamental patterns, aiding in memory retention. To enhance
memorability, I have assigned catchy names to the patterns, which are
consistently used throughout the discussions in the chapters.

12
 Introduction

Most positions in the Flash Cards are presented from White’s perspective.
While exceptions are made for patterns more commonly seen from Black’s
viewpoint, this format ensures user-friendliness.
The book concludes with Chapter 12, illustrating how some of the 100
Patterns can be effectively combined.

The 100 Tactical Patterns You Must Know Workbook

In addition to writing this book, I have also written The 100 Tactical Patterns
You Must Know Workbook. In this workbook, you can test the knowledge
gained in this book with over 500 exercises. The transition from theory to
practice can be challenging, and the workbook is a helpful intermediary
step. By first practising with the patterns, you will find it easier to
internalize them. Subsequently, the step towards the ultimate goal,
successfully applying the patterns in your games, is made faster and easier.
It should, therefore, not surprise you that I recommend working with
both books, although you have already made a good choice by purchasing
this book. Thank you for that!

Acknowledgments
I want to thank the New in Chess team for their trust in me and in this
significant project, as well as, of course, for editing and publishing 100
Tactical Patterns You Must Know and The 100 Tactical Patterns You Must Know
Workbook.
To my parents, I am thankful for their steadfast support and belief in
me.
Lastly, I want to express my profound appreciation to two cherished
friends, Rosa and Hein Jan. Your help and empathy during a challenging
period have been truly invaluable to me. I am forever grateful for your
friendship and unwavering backing.

I wish you a lot of enjoyment and an enriching experience with this book!

Frank Erwich
Leiderdorp, the Netherlands
December 2024

13
 100 Tactical Patterns You Must Know

PATTERN 4 Sacrificing the rook for a bishop fork

In the previous Patterns, we saw the capture of a knight by a bishop

preceding a fork. In this Pattern, a capture by a bishop marks the
culmination of the tactic by means of a fork, specifically a bishop fork!
Once again, we lure an opponent’s piece (rook or king) to a sensitive
square, this time with the help of a rook sacrifice. Although one could
argue for breaking down this Pattern into segments, similar to the
pawn fork, I have chosen to present it in one Pattern here, because the
preparatory work (luring by means of a sacrifice) and the end goal (a
bishop fork) remain consistent throughout. Consider it an added bonus!

In the first two examples, we Game 12

see the enemy rook being lured, Sergey Karjakin 2547
after which the bishop forks that Alexandra Kosteniuk 2456
same rook and the king along two Brissago match 2003
diagonals:

Game 11 ._._._M_
Benjamin Bok 2638 _._._DjJ
Jeffery Xiong 2663 T_.j._._
St Louis 2019 i._LjJ_.
.i._._._
_B_._I_.
._._T_M_ ._._._Ii
_R_._.jJ † _.r._.k.
._._Jl._
j._._._. Here, we will see the same trick as
[Link]._ in the previous example, but with
_._._._. some extra preparation.
._._._I_ 32.♖c8+
„ _._R_.k. This seems to win on the spot,
as it is checkmate after 32...♕f8
37...♖a1! 0-1 33.♗xd5+ ♔h8 34.♖xf8. However,
Not only is the rook lured to the Black has a surprise in store:
corner, but it also has to abandon 32...♕e8
the protection of the knight. White Black interposes the queen on an
resigned, because after 38.♖xa1 unprotected square. More about
♗xd4+ 39.♔f1 ♗xa1, he would be a this unique defence in Pattern 87.
piece behind. With, for example, the rook on b6

22
 Chapter 1 – Double attack

instead of a6 and the a5-pawn off 30...♖xd1+!

the board, this would be winning. Tempting but not good is 30...♗xf3
It also seems very good here, as due to 31.♔d2!, counterattacking the
after 33.♖xe8+ ♔f7, both the white black rook while at the same time
bishop and rook are hanging, but... opening the first rank so the rook
33.♖xe8+ ♔f7 on h1 protects the bishop on d1.
31.♔xd1 ♗xf3+
._._R_._ Bishop fork!
_._._MjJ
T_.j._._ A bishop can, of course, also
i._LjJ_. attack the rook and king along
.i._._._ one diagonal. The next two games
_B_._I_. demonstrate this. In the first
._._._Ii example, the rook is lured, while in
_._._.k. the second it is the king:

34.♖a8! 1-0 Game 14

Luring the black rook into the Robin Swinkels 2536
corner, where it falls victim to a David Murray 2162
fork: 34...♖xa8 (34...♗xb3 35.♖xa6 Rhodes tt 2013
also loses) 35.♗xd5+. Luring an
enemy piece onto a poisoned square
by means of a sacrifice on that ._._._._
square is also called a decoy. _B_.t.j.
._._.m.j
In the next game, the king is lured: _._._._.
._._.i._
Game 13 iR_._K_L
Narayanan Rajeswari Visakh 2489 ._._._._
Viktor Erdös 2604 „ _._._._.
Romania tt 2018 (analysis)
51...♗e6!
._._._M_ Not only attacking the rook but also
with another goal in mind.
j._._J_J
52.♖b5 ♖xb7!
._._._J_
Luring the rook, placing it on the
_._.i._. same diagonal as the white king.
.i._._L_ After 53.♖xb7 ♗d5+, the white rook
i._._I_. and king are forked. White played
._._._.i 53.♖a5, but had to resign soon
„ _.tBk._R after.

23
 100 Tactical Patterns You Must Know

Game 15 Black’s last move, 26...♖b1-a1, lines

Frank Erwich 2319 up three pieces on the same a1-h8
Mark Timmermans 2175 diagonal.
Dutch Online Blitz Championship 2010 27.♖xf6! 1-0
27...♔xf6 28.♗d4+ wins back the
rook with interest.
._S_._._ Please note that when going for
j._._Jm. a decoy, you should be especially
R_._.l.j attentive to intermediate moves.
_._B_.j. If in the above diagram the white
._._._._ king were to stand on square d2,
_I_.b.i. then after 27.♖xf6, the intermediate
._._IiKi move 27...♖a2+ would have been an
† t._._._. unpleasant surprise for White!

PATTERN 5 A queen sacrifice in the corner for a knight fork

Caution is always necessary when it comes to knight forks. These may arise
either at once or after one or more preparatory moves. Although there
are various ways to deliver a knight fork, I have chosen to highlight one
specific form in this book. Similar to the previous Pattern, we sacrifice
material through luring. Our focus is on a queen sacrifice in the corner.

Let’s start with two examples from Here, Alekhine played 26.♗b2,
a World Championship match: but he missed a tremendous
opportunity.
Game 16 26.♕h8+!
Alexander Alekhine Forcing the king to the corner and
Max Euwe removing the defender of pawn f7.
Rotterdam World Championship match 1937 After 26...♔xh8, the king and queen
are within knight’s forking distance
._._._M_ and 27.♘xf7+ wins back the queen
with interest.
_._LlJj.
Note that the queen on h4 could
J_._Js._
also have been a rook: 26.♖h8+ has
_J_.d.n. the same effect.
.i._._.q
_.n._.i. In the next example, we see a World
I_._Ii.i Champion executing this Pattern
† _.b._.k.
with a bit more preparation:

24
 Chapter 1 – Double attack

Game 17 44.♕a8+!
Tigran Petrosian The direct 44.♘xf7 is tempting
Boris Spassky but would be a significant mistake:
Moscow World Championship match 1966 44...♕d1+, and White cannot avoid
perpetual check, for example,
45.♕g1 ♕f3+ 46.♕g2 ♕d1+ 47.♗g1
._._._M_ ♕h5+. After each check, the queen
t._._T_J and bishop block the path of their
J_.nB_._ own king, preventing its escape.
sJjI_.d. We will encounter this type of
._I_._._ perpetual check again in Pattern
_I_.n._. 78.
Iq._._.i 44...♔g7
† _._._._K
Q_._._._
29.♗xf7+ ♖xf7 30.♕h8+! j._._TmJ
Black resigned, because after ._.d._._
30...♔xh8 31.♘xf7+ ♔g7 32.♘xg5 _.j.j.n.
White is a piece up. I_I_._._
_._._._.
Ten years earlier, Petrosian also ._._._.b
achieved success with this trick. It _._._._K
required a bit more preparation, but
when you know what to aim for, 45.♗xe5+!
this is not a problem! Forces the queen to square e5,
where it turns out to be incon­
Game 18 venienced in two ways.
Tigran Petrosian A point of attention here! 45.♕h8+
Vladimir Simagin looks very good, but with the king
Moscow match 1956 on g7 instead of g8, Black is not
obliged to capture the queen. After
45...♔g6, 46.♘xf7 (46.♕g8+? ♖g7!),
._._.m._ 46...♕d1+ again leads to perpetual
j._._T_J check. A cunning defence!
._.d._._ 45...♕xe5 46.♕h8+!
_.j.j.n. Now, yes! If Black declines to
I_I_._._ capture the queen, then 47.♕xe5
_._._._. wins the black queen.
._._._Qb 46...♔xh8 47.♘xf7+
† _._._._K Black resigned, because the queen
has fallen victim to the knight.

25
 100 Tactical Patterns You Must Know

We conclude with another example 59.♘xf6+, and after 59...♔h8 not

by a World Champion. For a change, only the black queen but also the
we now see a rook sacrifice instead white queen is hanging. There
of a queen sacrifice, occurring on is nothing to be gained from a
the seventh instead of the eighth discovered check.
rank. The idea remains the same, but Incidentally, 59...♔g7 would be a
I want to make you aware that this massive mistake:
Pattern can be executed in multiple
ways: ._._._._
_._D_.m.
Game 19 ._.t.nJ_
Judit Polgar 2670 j._._._J
Viswanathan Anand 2770 .[Link]._
Wijk aan Zee 1998 _I_._.i.
.i._._K_
_._._._.
.r._._._
analysis diagram
_._D_._.
._.t._Jm 60.♕xd6!. Now, it is not the king
j._N_.lJ (as we’ve seen in this Pattern),
.j._Ij._ but the queen being lured to
_I_.q.i. an unfavourable square to be
.i._._K_ confronted with a knight fork after
† _._._._. 60...♕xd6 61.♘e8+.
58...♖xf6 59.♖h7+!
56.♖h8+! The familiar trick. On 59...♔xh7,
Black resigned in light of 60.♘xf6+ leads to a fork, while after
56...♔g7 57.♕d4+ ♗f6 58.♕xf6+!. 59...♔f8 60.♖xd7 White remains a
The direct 58.♖h7+ is a clever try, piece up.
but it doesn’t work: 58...♔xh7

PATTERN 6 A queen’s attack on the central king and a loose piece

In the previous Pattern, we sacrificed our queen; in this Pattern, our

goal is to use the queen to deliver a fork. We will focus on a double
attack on the king in the centre and an unprotected piece. At first glance,
this may appear to be a basic tactic, but many strong players, including
grandmasters, have fallen victim to it frequently.

26
 Chapter 1 – Double attack

Game 20 Most players would get out of

Ernesto Inarkiev 2693 the check by interposing the c8-
Robby Kevlishvili 2451 bishop. However, Black has a very
St Petersburg World Blitz Championship 2018 surprising move that leaves the
c3-knight and the b5-bishop in a
predicament:
T_LdM_.t 8...♔e7!
jJj._JjJ A move you don’t make every day!
._Sj.s._ After 9.♘e2, the e1-a5 diagonal
_._Nj._. opens up, allowing 9...♕a5+ with a
.lI_._._ fork and White loses the b5-bishop.
_._.iN_. The game continued with
[Link] 9.e5
„ r.b.kB_R Now, instead of the also viable
9...dxc3, 9...♘g8 was best, leaving
6...♘xd5? 7.cxd5 ♘e7 White with a problem. After the
After retreating the knight, the clever 10.♕g4 (note 10.b3 f6!),
bishop becomes unprotected and
the a4-e8 diagonal opens up (the T_Ld.lSt
game continued with 7...0-0 8.dxc6). jJ_.mJjJ
8.♕a4+ ._._J_._
The queen fork results in winning a _B_Ji._.
bishop. ._.j._Q_
_.nI_._.
In the next game, we see a similar IiI_.iIi
scenario: r.b.k._R
analysis diagram
Game 21
Michael van Liempt 1959 Black responds with 10...a6!
Arthur Pijpers 2338 (10...dxc3?? 11.♕b4+ would be
Dieren 2013 a horrific mistake leading to
checkmate) 11.♗a4 b5!, and Black
T_LdMl.t wins a piece. With the a4-e8
diagonal closed, White no longer
jJ_._JjJ
threatens checkmate.
._._Js._
_B_J_._. In the previous examples, the
._.jI_._ knight on the c-file was missing to
_.nI_._. defend the bishop. However, even if
IiI_.iIi the bishop can be defended, it does
„ [Link]._R not always provide a solution:

27
 100 Tactical Patterns You Must Know

Game 22 And done, you would think. A

Agata Papini Trentini double attack on the king and
Ary Born 1227 bishop, and if interposing the
Florianopolis 2023 knight in the previous game was
already futile, it is even more so
here, isn’t it? After all, the knight
T_LdMlSt will be unprotected on c6.
jJ_._JjJ 10...♘c6!
._S_J_._ Nonetheless! The point is that
_BjJ_._. the white knight on c3 is also
._._I_._ unprotected and after 11.♕xc6+?
_._I_N_. ♗d7 White has a significant
IiI_.iIi problem: 12.♕b7 ♗xc3+ 13.♗d2
„ rNbQk._R ♗xa1, not only regaining the knight
but also winning a rook.
5...♕a5+ 6.♘c3 d4! White is better off protecting the
Attacking the pinned knight, which knight, but after 11.♗d2 ♗d7, Black
is now lost. remains a pawn up.

It is not always a walk in the park. Another kind of defence:

In the next example, protecting the
bishop with the knight is indeed Game 24
sufficient: Nihal Sarin 2670
Kamel Njili 2414
Game 23 Djerba rapid 2023
Analysis

TsL_Ml.t
TsLdM_.t j._J_JjJ
j._._JjJ ._._._._
.j._Js._ dBjI_._.
l.jJ_._. ._._S_._
._Ii._._ _._._N_.
i.n.i.n. Ii._.iIi
.i._.iIi † rNbQk._R
† r.bQkB_R
White took the pawn on b5 a move
Black’s last move 7...d7-d5 seems to earlier and seems to be in trouble
put the cat among the pigeons. How now as 8.♘c3 fails to 8...♘xc3,
tempting is it now to lure the black winning the b5-bishop. However,
bishop to b4 for a queen fork? White has a trick up his sleeve:
8.b4 cxb4 9.axb4 ♗xb4 10.♕a4+ 8.♘bd2!

28
 Chapter 1 – Double attack

The engine even deems 8.♘fd2 White’s 6.c4 was, to put it mildly,
better, with the idea that after not very clever.
8...♕xb5 9.♘xe4, the knight on b1, 6...dxc4!
heading to c3, serves White more Black prepares for the queen fork by
effectively than the knight on f3, as clearing the fifth rank with gain of
was the case in the game. tempo.
8...♕xb5 7.♗xc4
The second point behind White’s 7.♗xf6 solves nothing. After 7...cxd3,
8th move becomes evident both the knight on e2 and the
after 8...♘xd2: 9.♕e2+!. With an bishop on f6 are hanging and White
intermediate check, White protects loses a piece.
his bishop, which was impossible in 7...♕a5+
the line with 8.♘c3. Also, 9...♘e4+ Black won a piece and, shortly
with a discovered check leaves afterwards, the game. As I
White unimpressed, as after 10.♗d2 mentioned before, it’s not the
the knight will be lost. weakest chess players who have
9.♘xe4 fallen victim to such queen forks.
White remains a pawn up.
Clearing as preparation for a queen
In the previous examples, we fork is encountered in various
observed the forking queen opening traps. To conclude, we will
ending up right next to the loose provide two examples. The first
bishop. However, a queen fork can concerns the Berlin Defence of the
be equally effective from a long Ruy Lopez, and the second, the
distance: Alapin Variation of the Sicilian.

Game 25 Game 26
Levon Aronian 2744 Ruy Lopez
Teimour Radjabov 2729
Monaco rapid 2007 1.e4 e5 2.♘f3 ♘c6 3.♗b5 ♘f6 4.d3
♘e7 5.♘xe5?

T_.dMl.t T_LdMl.t
jJ_SjJjJ jJjJsJjJ
._J_.s._ ._._.s._
_._J_.b. _B_.n._.
._Ii._L_ ._._I_._
_._Bi._. _._I_._.
Ii._NiIi IiI_.iIi
„ rN_Qk._R rNbQk._R

29
 100 Tactical Patterns You Must Know

5...c6!
Clearing the a5-d8 diagonal for the T_LdMl.t
queen with gain of tempo. If the jJ_.jJjJ
bishop moves, 6...♕a5+ forks the ._Sj._._
king and the knight on e5. _.j._._.
._.iS_._
Game 27 _.i._N_.
Sicilian Defence Ii._BiIi
rNbQk._R
1.e4 c5 2.♘f3 d6 3.c3 ♘f6
4.♗e2 ♘c6 6.d5!
4...♘xe4? 5.♕a4+, forking and Clearing the fourth rank with gain
winning the e4-knight. of tempo. If the c6-knight moves,
5.d4 ♘xe4? 7.♕a4+ forks king and knight.

PATTERN 7 Queenside castling with a double threat

After the pawn, bishop, knight, and queen, it is now the turn of the king
and the rook to simultaneously attack two pieces by castling queenside!

Game 28 Getting such a unique double attack

Michael Adams 2665 on the board is a once-in-a-lifetime
Alexey Dreev 2650 occurrence, right? Well, take a look
Linares 1997 at what the former world number 4
went through sixteen years later:

._Lm._.t Game 29
j._.jJlJ Boris Gelfand 2777
._B_.sJ_ Michael Adams 2754
_._.j._. London k.o. rapid 2013
._._._._
_.n.b.i. ._._._M_
ItI_.i.i j.t._Jj.
† r._.k._R
L_._Js._
Black’s last move 12...♖xb2 turned
_.j.n._J
out to be less than optimal.
._I_._._
13.0-0-0+! _._._BiI
White wins material thanks to the It._Ii._
attack on the rook and king. „ r._.k._R

30
 Chapter 1 – Double attack

There’s not much going on, but 10.dxe5 fxe5 11.♘xe5! dxe5
after Black’s 12.♕xd8+ ♔xd8
24...♘d7? White has lured the black king to
he now falls victim to the trick square d8 and now it is time for:
that we saw him use himself in the 13.0-0-0+
previous example! Black resigned.
25.0-0-0!
Thanks to the knight being on ._Lm.l.t
d7, White has an extra target. The _.[Link]
double attack on the knight and J_J_._._
rook costs Black an exchange and, _._.j._.
eventually, the game. ._._I_._
_.n.b._.
Now, let’s delve a bit deeper. We ItI_.iIi
have seen that with an unprotected _.kR_._R
rook on the second rank and a
target on the d-file, queenside 82 years (!) after this game, the
castling can sometimes produce same position occurred in Mestek-
a double attack. If only one of Voscilla, Pula 2016. Black played on
these conditions is met, you can for a bit but eventually resigned on
try to create the second condition move 21.
yourself:
It is fun to be able to execute this
Game 30 trick, but familiarity with it also
Otto Feuer helps to defend against it:
Alberic O’Kelly de Galway
Liege Belgian Championship 1934 Game 31
Carsten Hejberg
Dennis Dongart 2155
._LdMl.t Copenhagen 1996
_.[Link]
J_Jj.j._
_._.j._. T_._M_.t
._.iI_._ jR_._J_J
_.nQbN_. ._._._J_
ItI_.iIi _._.l.b.
† r._.k._R ._._._._
_._.i._.
Rook on b2, check! Queenside I_._.iIi
castling possible, check! Target on „ _._K_._R
the d-file? Let’s arrange that:

31
 100 Tactical Patterns You Must Know

Black wants to castle queenside, but It seems too late to defend, as

this is against the rules. 5.♔xe2 ♔xb7 leads to a lost rook
16...f6 endgame. But what else?
Attacking the bishop, threatening 5.♖d7!
to castle queenside and winning White interposes the rook on
the rook. White let it happen and an unprotected square. We have
resigned after 17.♗h4? 0-0-0+. already encountered this unique
However, if you see the trick defence in Game 12, Karjakin-
coming, you can try to defend by Kosteniuk. The idea here is that the
moving the king or the rook. As black rook or king is lured to an
the black bishop is also vulnerable, unfavourable square.
17.♖b5! is the move that gets White 5...♔xd7
out of trouble: after 17...fxg5 White 5...♖xd7 6.♔xe2, and without a rook
has 18.♖xe5+. on the back rank, promotion can
only be stopped by giving up the
We conclude with another rook with 6...♖xa7.
defensive method: 6.♖d3+! ♔c7 7.♖xd8

Game 32 ._.r._._
Leonard Katsnelson i.m._._.
Study, 1979 .jJ_._._
_._._._.
._._._._
._Mt._._ _._._._.
iR_._._. ._._T_._
.jJ_._._ _._K_._.
_._._._.
._._._._ And again, promotion will cost
r._._._. Black a rook:
._._T_._ 7...♖a2 8.a8♕ ♖xa8 9.♖xa8
† _._K_._. And White wins.

32
 Flash Cards 1-7

Double attack
._._._._ 1. Increasing pawn tension for a pivotal pawn fork
_.j.s._. White elevates the pressure on the central pawn
._.l.s._ cluster adding an additional pawn with 1.f4.
_._Jj._. By luring away the e-pawn (1...exd4 or 1...exf4),
._.iI_._ White will then advance the e-pawn to e5 with
_.i._._. a fork. Note that after 1...♘xe4 2.fxe5 the black
.i._.i._ bishop is trapped.
_._._._.

._._._._ 2. Releasing tension for a pivotal pawn fork

_.j._._. Compared to the first diagram, the black bishop
._.l.s._ now has more space and 1.f4 doesn’t work
_._Jj._. anymore, as after 1...♘xe4 2.fxe5 the bishop is
._.iI_._ not trapped. Instead, the bishop is lured to e5
_.i._._. with 1.dxe5 ♗xe5. Now the f-pawn can support a
.i._.i._ pawn fork after 2.f4 ♗d6 3.e5, winning a piece.
_.b._._.

._.d._M_ 3. An anti-positional capture to fork or trap a piece

_Jj._.jJ White first lures the bishop to an unfavourable
._._Lj._ square after which they win a piece: 1.♗xd5
_I_Sj._. ♗xd5 2.e3 ♘f5 3.e4 (pawn fork), or 2...♘e6 3.e4
._.s._._ (trapping the bishop). A single pawn does the job.
_.nI_.i.
._.nIiBi
_._Q_.k.

._.t._M_ 4. Sacrificing the rook for a bishop fork

r._._._. White lures the black rook to a8 with
._._._._ 1.♖a8 ♖xa8, then follows up with 2.♗xd5+,
_._S_._. forking the rook and the king along two
._._._._ diagonals.
_._._B_.
._._._._
_._._._.

33
100 Tactical Patterns You Must Know

._._._M_ 5. A queen sacrifice in the corner for a knight fork

_._._Jj. The white queen (which could also be a rook
._.d._._ here) forces the king to the corner with 1.♕h8+
_._.n._. ♔xh8, where the king and queen fall within
._._._.q the knight’s reach: the fork 2.♘xf7+ recovers the
_._._._. queen with interest.
._._._._ This concept is also feasible with the white queen
_._._._. originating from a different square than h4 (as
long as it has the h8-square in sight), and the
white knight and black queen on squares other
than e5 and d6 but still within the knight’s
forking range on f7.

._._M_._ 6. An attack by the queen on a king in the centre

_._._._. and a loose piece
._._._._ White launches a double attack on the central
_._._._. king and the bishop with 1.♕a4+. The queen’s
.l._._._ sortie can also be effective when targeting
_._._._. an enemy piece that is further away and
._._._._ unprotected.
_._Q_._.

._.m._._ 7. Queenside castling with a double threat

_._._._. By castling queenside with 1.0-0-0, White
._._._._ creates a double threat, putting the black king in
_._._._. check while simultaneously attacking the black
._._._._ rook with the king. White wins the rook.
_._._._.
.t._._._
r._.k._.

34
 100 Tactical Patterns You Must Know

CHAPTER 6

Trapping pieces
In this section, the spotlight is on fourteen Patterns related to trapping
pieces.
Patterns 50 and 51 focus on pawn techniques that form the foundation
of various methods of trapping pieces. In Patterns 52 to 54, the bishop is
the piece that is caught, while in Pattern 55 the knight is the victim. In
Pattern 56, a backward move of the knight results in the trapping of an
enemy bishop or knight. In Pattern 57, the rook is lost, while Patterns 58
to 63 demonstrate how a queen can get into trouble.

PATTERN 50 The en passant trap

This tactic involves luring away an opponent’s pawn by forcing it to

capture en passant, allowing us to trap a valuable piece afterwards. We will
examine three scenarios, starting with trapping the queen in the centre of
the board.

Game 224 Now that the pawn on the fifth

Jule Cordes 1520 rank is gone, Black can put a new
Felix Käfer pawn on that fifth rank without it
Heilbronn 2018 (adjusted) being able to be captured en passant
anymore.
21...e5!
._.t.tM_ White must sacrifice her knight to
jLj.j._J prevent the loss of her queen:
.j.j.s.l 22.♘xe5 dxe5 23.♕xe5 ♖de8
_._I_J_D As the principle remains the same,
._Iq._J_ reversing the moves on move 20
_.nNiIi. was also possible: 20...e5! 21.dxe6 c5.
Ii._B_I_ The queen still has nowhere to go.
„ _.rR_.k. White can still resist, but ultimately
Black comes out with a material
20...c5! advantage, for example: 22.♘f4
Black forces White to capture en (22.fxg4 ♘xg4 23.♗xg4 fxg4 and
passant. the white queen still has a problem)
21.dxc6 22...cxd4 23.♘xh5 ♗xe3+ 24.♔h2

174
 Chapter 6 – Trapping pieces

♘xh5 25.e7 ♗xc1 26.exd8♕ ♖xd8 beautiful attack, and even though
27.♖xc1 dxc3. this doesn’t fall within the scope of
When playing the pawn move, this Pattern, I will give the rest of
make sure that after the enemy the game without comment.
pawn captures, it cannot continue 14.♕h3!! g4 15.♕xh6 gxf3
capturing favourably. For example, 16.♗xf3 ♕xd4 17.0-0! c6 18.♖ad1
with a black queen on f7 instead of ♕b6 19.♘e4! fxe4 20.♗xe4 ♖f5
h5, starting with 20...e5 would be 21.♗xf5 exf5 22.e6 ♗f8 23.♗e5 c5
unwise because then the en passant 24.♗xg7 ♗xg7
capture on e6 hits the queen.
Therefore, in that scenario, it is TsL_._M_
better to start with 20...c5, so after j._._.l.
21.dxc6, 21...e5 can be played. .d._I_.q
_Jj._J_.
The next trap takes place on the ._J_._._
kingside: _._._._.
Ii._.iIi
_._R_Rk.
Game 225
Wesley So 2770 25.e7! ♗d7 26.♕h5! ♕c6 27.♖fe1!
Levon Aronian 2781 ♗e8 28.♖d8 ♘a6 29.♖e6! ♕d7
Carlsen Invitational rapid 2021 30.♖xa8 ♘c7 31.♖d8 ♘xe6
32.♖xe8+ ♘f8 33.♖xf8+
Black resigned as White will soon
TsL_.tM_ promote with e8♕.
j.j._Js.
._._J_.j Game 226
_J_Di.j. Wesley So 2770
.lJi._Q_ Levon Aronian 2781
_.n._Nb. Carlsen Invitational rapid 2021 (analysis)

Ii._BiIi
„ r._.k._R
TsL_.tM_
In this complicated balanced j.j._Js.
position, Aronian was tempted by ._._J_.j
the en passant trap and played: _J_Di.j.
13...f5? .lJi._Qi
Although the complications after _.n._Nb.
14.exf6?? e5 are in Black’s favour, Ii._.iI_
White is not obliged to capture „ r._.kB_R
en passant. Instead, White starts a

175
100 Tactical Patterns You Must Know

If White had played 13.h4 instead of Now, after 13...f5 14.exf6 e5,
13.♗e2, then the trap does work in White plays 15.fxg7 and threatens
Black’s favour: to capture the rook on f8 with
13...f5! 14.exf6 promotion! For example: 15...♗xg4
14.♕h3? is ludicrous now, as after 16.gxf8♕ ♗xf8 17.♘xd5, and White
14...g4 the pawn on h6 is not is up a piece and a rook.
hanging.
14...e5 One last example, this time
Trapping the queen. White can targeting a rook on the queenside:
prevent the loss of his queen, but
remains down a piece after 15.0-0-0 Game 227
♗xc3 16.f7+ Ian Nepomniachtchi 2773
Magnus Carlsen 2865
TsL_.tM_ Airthings Masters k.o. rapid 2022
j.j._Is.
._._._.j
_J_Dj.j. .t._._M_
._Ji._Qi _JlSdJj.
_.l._Nb. ._J_L_.j
Ii._.iI_ _.i.j._.
_.kR_B_R Nr._I_._
adjusted diagram
_._.b._I
Iq._.iI_
16...♔xf7! (16...♔h7? 17.hxg5! „ _._._Bk.
♗xg4 18.♖xh6#) 17.♘xe5+ ♔g8
18.♕e2 ♗xd4. 29...b5! 30.cxb6
As for that possibility of a pawn 30.♘c3 ♗a5 and White’s rook is
continuing its capturing ways, this trapped.
would work with a black king on h7 30...♗d6
instead of g8: And again White’s rook is trapped.
The damage is manageable after
TsL_.t._ 31.a3! ♗xb4 32.axb4,
j.j._JsM but Black has turned a position
._._J_.j where he was heavily under
_J_Di.j. pressure into one where he can
.lJi._Qi play for a win. The game eventually
_.n._Nb. ended in a draw, but only after
Ii._.iI_ Black blundered in a winning
r._.kB_R position, allowing White to escape
with half a point.
adjusted diagram

176
 100 Tactical Patterns You Must Know

CHAPTER 12

Pattern combinations
We have arrived at the final chapter of the book, in which we will
conclude with a few entertaining examples. It’s fantastic if you can apply
one of the 100 Patterns in your game, so imagine the possibilities when
you start combining them! Let’s explore the art of merging Patterns!
In fact, we have already seen that many Patterns can occur within a
game. Consider some transitions between the Patterns, such as in Game
427, Gaprindashvili-Servaty, where the successful execution of a double
rook sacrifice (Pattern 98) depended on the blocking of the f2/f7-pawn
at a later stage (Pattern 97), or the moments where defences against
Patterns are addressed, like in Game 154, De Vries-Hilwerda, where a
counter-discovery (Pattern 19) was employed to counteract the trickery
from Pattern 34. In this chapter, we will discover that Patterns can be
combined in an endless number of ways.

In the first example, we will see most obvious one, but that loses
that several Patterns are available to instantly:
choose from on a single move: 13.dxe4?
• 13.g4! is a better choice, as it
Game 434 effectively unpins the knight by
Tamas Barany 1921 counterattacking the pinning
Gyula Kosztolanczi 2078 bishop (Pattern 84). In the event
Level 2019 of 13...exf3, unlike in Game 369,
Esipenko-Mamedyarov, the hanging
fianchettoed bishop is not an issue
T_.dM_.t here. White can calmly recapture
jR_.lJjJ the pawn, as both the knight on
._S_._._ c6 and the bishop remain hanging.
_._._._L After 14.♕xf3 ♘e5 15.♕f5, White
._J_J_._ regains his piece and wins.
i.iI_NiI In case of 13...♗g6, then White
._I_.iB_ can play 14.♘d4, with a pleasant
† _.bQk._R position;
• Alternatively, moving the pinned
White has several ways to knight with a counterattack
defend against the attack on the (Pattern 38) is also an interesting
pinned knight. He opts for the option. Both 13.♘d4 and 13.♘e5

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 Chapter 12 – Pattern combinations

lead to a complex position after then trap the rook via the opened
13...♗xd1 14.♘xc6 ♕d6 15.♖xe7+ a1-h8 diagonal.
♔f8 16.♗xe4, which is underscored 6...g6
by the engine’s evaluation of 0.00. After 6...♔e7 Black has a terrible
13...♕xd1+ 14.♔xd1 position as well, but at least it might
coax White into ‘winning’ decisive
T_._M_.t material after 7.♗g5+ ♘f6 8.♘xf6
jR_.lJjJ gxf6 9.♗xf6+ ♔xf6,
._S_._._
_._._._L Ts.d.l.t
._J_I_._ jLjJ_._J
i.i._NiI .j._Jm._
._I_.iB_ _._._._Q
_.bK_._R ._.i._._
_._B_._.
14...0-0-0+ IiI_.iIi
The queenside castling motif from r._.[Link]
Pattern 7 yields Black a rook.
analysis diagram

Another situation is when different and White has two absolute skewers
responses to a single move can lead to choose from... both running into
to different Patterns: a devastating counter-discovery we
have seen before:
Game 435 • 10.♕h4+?? ♔f7 11.♕xd8
Erik van den Doel 2554
Jens Lütke 2293 Ts.q.l.t
Germany Bundesliga B 2014/15 jLjJ_M_J
.j._J_._
_._._._.
[Link] ._.i._._
jLjJ_.jJ _._B_._.
.j._J_._ IiI_.iIi
_._._._. r._.[Link]
._.iN_._ analysis diagram
_._B_._.
IiI_.iIi 11...♗b4+ and Black wins; the exact
† [Link] sequence from Game 94, Williams-
Dieu (Pattern 19);
6.♕h5+! • 10.♕e5+?? ♔f7 11.♕xh8 ♗b4+;
White employs the idea from • This position is probably not what
Pattern 90: he provokes 6...g6 to the grandmaster had in mind on

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 100 Tactical Patterns You Must Know

move 6, but to illustrate how bad White combines the ideas of two
Black’s position already was, even Patterns in one move. Rather than
now a calm developing move like trapping a piece, this ingenious
10.♘f3! gives White a crushing pawn thrust (Pattern 51) creates a
attack. A sample line: 10...♘c6 11.d5! double threat. It not only opens the
exd5 12.0-0!, with the idea to add a1-h8 diagonal, aiming to eliminate
one more attacker with ♖ae1 before the defender of h7 with ♗xf6
moving in to deliver the final blow. (Pattern 48), but it also simply
7.♕e5 threatens to play dxe6.
White wins the rook in the corner. 19...cxd5
7...♕h4 8.♘f3 19...g6 20.dxe6 fxe6 21.♗h3.
8.♕xh8 wins as well, but the rook 20.♗xf6 g6
on h8 is going nowhere. White first Forced, but this means that Black
improves his pieces. has lost a piece. The (future) 17th
8...♕g4 9.0-0 World Champion won easily. In
Black had seen enough and case of 20...♗xf6, White plays
resigned. 21.♕xh7+ ♔f8

Another option is to use an idea T_._.m._

from one Pattern to enable an idea jLdT_JjQ
from another Pattern. This can be ._._Jl._
achieved in a single move (ideas _.jJ_.n.
from two Patterns are combined) or ._._._._
in a sequence of moves: _I_._.i.
I_._.iBi
Game 436 r._.r.k.
Ding Liren 2777
analysis diagram
Santosh Gujrathi Vidit 2693
Tbilisi rapid 2017 22.♖xe6!, cutting off the black
king’s escape route and threatening
checkmate with ♕h8#. 22...fxe6
T_._._M_ (22...g6 23.♖xf6) 23.♘xe6+ ♔e7
jLdTlJjJ 24.♘xc7.
._J_Js._
_.j._.n. In the next example, the then
._.i._._ soon-to-be 14th World Champion
_I_._.i. uses a queen and rook vs queen
IbQ_.iBi discovery for the defence, only to
† r._.r.k. immediately fall for the trick from
our very last Pattern (containing
19.d5! ideas from other Patterns):

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 Chapter 12 – Pattern combinations

Game 437 35.♕xe8? ♖xg2+! 36.♔xg2 ♕xe8.

Jan van de Mortel 2382 35...♕xh3?
Vladimir Kramnik 2751 35...♖e6 was the easiest way to keep
Internet Chess Club blitz 1999 control, although Black is not better
due to the weakness of his king and
his pawns.
._._._M_
j._Q_.s. ._.qSr._
.j._._T_ j._._._M
_._J_._D .j._._T_
._Ji.r._ _._J_._.
_.i.t._I ._Ji._._
Ii._._I_ _.i._._D
† _._._Rk. Ii._._I_
_._._.k.
Black is threatening to play ...♖xh3
as well as to evacuate the king to h7, Black is threatening checkmate
so White must act forcefully: with a capture of the pawn on g2,
32.♕d8+ which is pinned and therefore a
Attempting to lure Black’s king into poor defender.
a pin. 36.♖h8+!
32...♖e8 A magnet sacrifice (Pattern 100)
• 32...♔h7? loses to 33.♖h4; with hints of Pattern 5 (a rook
• 32...♘e8 is okay too, but after sacrifice in the corner for a queen
33.♖f8+ ♔h7 34.♖1f7+ ♖g7 35.♖xg7+ fork), Pattern 44 (sacrificing the
♔xg7+ (35...♘xg7? 36.♖h8+) rook with an absolute skewer) and
36.♖f4, the black king is too weak Pattern 65 (deflecting the queen’s
to play for a win. protection with the rook). White
33.♖f8+ pulls the black king to a tactically
An X-ray attack. inferior square. Due to the absolute
33...♔h7 skewer on the queen, Black has to
It is checkmate after 33...♖xf8? capture the white rook.
34.♖xf8+ ♔h7 35.♖h8#. 36...♔xh8 37.♕xe8+
34.♖xe8 ♘xe8 The queen fork.
Black uses a queen and rook vs 37...♔g7 38.♕xg6+
queen discovery (with hints of Removing the black queen’s
Pattern 13) to defend the knight. defender.
35.♖f8 38...♔xg6 39.gxh3
With this rook move, the white No longer pinned, the g2-pawn is
queen pins the knight to the now an excellent defender. White
h8-square. went on to win the pawn endgame.

337