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Chess Tactics for Beginners

The tactics that decide beginner games, taught one at a time and drilled on the board. Eight chapters go from noticing a free piece to finding mate in two, each with its own puzzle sets, and the section ends with the endgame technique to finish a game you have won.

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48 lessons48 challenges

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Syllabus

1 sections48 lessons48 challenges

This section is part of the Chess Journey. The full syllabus has more sections - click any preview below to view it on the Journey page.

  1. Section 1Fundamentals46 lessons
  2. Section 2

    Tactics

    Start sectionStartExpandCollapse    Win the game: hanging pieces, forks, pins, skewers and discovered attacks, mating patterns, mate in two and the endgames that finish the job.48 lessons48 challenges

    Free Pieces

    6 lessons6

    The Fork

    7 lessons7

    The Pin

    6 lessons6

    Skewers and Discoveries

    6 lessons6

    Removing the Defender

    5 lessons5

    Mate Patterns

    7 lessons7

    Mate in Two

    6 lessons6

    Winning Endgames

    5 lessons5
  3. Section 3Playing Real Games40 lessons
View the full Chess Journey syllabus
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Every game starts here. The two arrows are the classical first moves.

Every game starts here. The two arrows are the classical first moves.

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Meet the Board
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The chessboard is a grid of 64 squares, 32 light and 32 dark, in a pattern where the colors always alternate.

Set it up so that each player has a light square in their bottom-right corner.

Files run up the board and ranks run across it - together they give every square its own name.

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DateJan 2026
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Why learn tactics here first

  • Free pieces first. Most beginner games are decided by a piece left en prise, so the section opens with hanging pieces, counting attackers and defenders, good and bad trades, and the one question to ask before every move: is it safe?
  • Each motif in its own chapter. The fork, the pin, the skewer, the discovered attack and double check, removing the defender, the back rank and the smothered mate: taught, then drilled with two puzzle sets each.
  • Puzzles with reasons. A wrong move is answered with why - the piece it hangs, the escape square it leaves - and a correct one is followed by the opponent's best reply, so you play each combination through to the end.
  • It closes the loop. The last chapter teaches king and queen against king, king and rook against king, the pawn race and the opposition, so the material you win with tactics turns into a result.

Frequently asked questions about beginner chess tactics

What is a hanging piece?

A piece that can be captured for free - attacked and not defended, or defended by fewer pieces than attack it. Spotting hanging pieces, yours and your opponent's, wins more beginner games than any other skill, which is why it is the first chapter of this section.

What is a fork in chess?

One move that attacks two things at once, so the opponent can only save one. Knights fork best because they attack squares no other piece covers, but pawns, queens and even kings fork too. The Fork chapter teaches how to see one coming and how to set one up.

What is a pin in chess?

An attack along a line where the piece in front cannot move without exposing a more valuable piece behind it. If the piece behind is the king the pin is absolute - the front piece may not legally move at all. The chapter covers winning a pinned piece and breaking a pin.

What is a skewer?

A pin in reverse: the more valuable piece stands in front and must move out of the attack, exposing the piece behind it to capture. Rooks and bishops skewer along their lines; the queen along both.

What is a discovered attack?

A move that steps one piece out of the way to unmask an attack from the piece behind it, so two threats appear at once. When the unmasked attack is on the king it is a discovered check, and when both pieces give check it is a double check - the only check that cannot be blocked or captured out of.

How do I stop hanging pieces?

Before every move, look at your opponent's checks, captures and threats, then at what your intended move leaves undefended. The section turns that into a habit with the Is It Safe? lesson and its puzzles, and the Playing Real Games section builds the full pre-move routine on top of it.
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