Deflection in chess: how it works
Force a key defender away from the square it is protecting.
Deflection is a tactic that forces a defending piece away from the square or piece it is guarding, usually by offering it something it cannot refuse - a capture, a check, or a bigger threat.
Once the defender is lured away, whatever it was protecting is suddenly vulnerable. Deflections often come in the form of a sacrifice: you give up a pawn or even a piece to drag the defender off its post.
When you notice a key piece doing all the defending on one side of the board, ask yourself: can I make it go somewhere else?
Deflection examples
The black queen guards c8; deflecting it wins the game
White wants to play Rc8# (checkmate on the back rank), but the black queen on e6 defends c8. The solution is to deflect the queen - play a forcing move that makes the queen leave e6. Once the queen is pulled away, Rc8 is checkmate. Deflection is all about making the key defender go somewhere it does not want to be.
White plays g4 to deflect the bishop defending e4
The black bishop on f5 is doing important defensive work. White plays g4, attacking the bishop and forcing it to move. Once the bishop retreats, white's knight can land on e4 powerfully. Even a simple pawn push can be a deflection - any move that forces a key piece away from its defensive post.
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