Tactical Course Pinning

A pin in chess occurs when an attacked piece cannot move, or cannot move without an important consequence, because doing so would expose a more valuable piece or another critical target behind it.

Only long-range pieces can create pins. Bishops pin along diagonals, rooks along ranks and files and queens can pin in either direction. Almost any opposing piece or pawn can become the object of a pin.

An absolute pin occurs when moving the pinned piece would expose its own king to check. Because such a move is illegal, the pinned piece cannot move away from the line of attack. This restriction can make the pinned piece particularly vulnerable to further tactical pressure.

A relative pin occurs when moving the piece is legal but would expose a more valuable piece, such as the queen or rook. Unlike an absolute pin, the pinned piece is still allowed to move. This is important because a player should never assume that a relatively pinned piece is completely immobilised. Moving it may even create a stronger counterattack or tactical combination.

Pins can serve several purposes. They may restrict the mobility of an opposing piece, increase pressure on a defender, help win material or support an attack against the king. A pin can also be created as part of normal development and later become tactically important as the position changes.

The presence of a pin is therefore not automatically a winning tactic. The tactical opportunity comes from understanding what the pinned piece can no longer defend or safely do and whether additional pressure can exploit that restriction.

The essential tactical idea is:

A pin restricts the movement of an opposing piece because moving it would expose the king, a more valuable piece or another important target.

When solving the positions below, look particularly for which piece is pinned, what lies behind it and whether the restriction can be exploited to win material or create a decisive attack. ♟️🎯

Solutions in Chess Board