Tactical Course Discovered Attack

A discovered attack in chess occurs when one piece moves away and reveals an attack from another friendly piece behind it. The newly uncovered attack usually comes from a long-range piece such as a queen, rook or bishop.

The strength of a discovered attack comes from the coordination of two pieces. The moving piece can create one threat while simultaneously uncovering another attack. This can leave the opponent facing two problems that cannot both be answered with a single move.

In a basic discovered attack, the important threat comes from the uncovered piece. The moving piece simply clears the rank, file or diagonal. In stronger combinations, the moving piece may also attack or capture something, creating a discovered double attack.

A particularly powerful form is the discovered check. Here the moving piece uncovers a line towards the opposing king, forcing an immediate response to the check. The moving piece can therefore use the same move to capture material or create another threat elsewhere on the board.

Even stronger is a double check, where the moving piece gives check while simultaneously uncovering a second check from the piece behind it. Because two pieces are checking the king at the same time, capturing or blocking only one attacker cannot solve the problem. The king must move.

Discovered attacks can also lead directly to checkmate when uncovering the long-range piece leaves the opposing king without a legal defence.

The essential tactical idea is:

A discovered attack moves one piece out of the way to reveal an attack from another piece, often allowing both pieces to create threats at the same time.

When solving the positions below, look particularly for which friendly piece is blocking a rook, bishop or queen, what attack would be revealed if that piece moved and whether the moving piece can create an additional threat at the same time. ♟️🎯

Solutions in Chess Board