What is Decoy in chess?
Luring an enemy piece (often the king) to a bad square.
A decoy sacrifice tempts a piece onto a square where it gets forked, pinned, or mated. Common in king-hunt combinations.
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Analyze my games →More chess terms
- OverloadingGiving one defender too many jobs so it can't cover them all.
- Removing the defenderCapturing or chasing away the piece that guards an important target.
- BatteryTwo pieces lined up on the same file, rank, or diagonal to multiply their force.
- WindmillAlternating checks from a rook and bishop that force the king back and forth while picking off material.
- X-ray attackA piece attacks or defends through another piece that stands in the way.
- DesperadoA piece that is going to be captured anyway, so it grabs as much material as possible before it dies.