Trapped Piece in chess: how it works
An enemy piece has wandered somewhere it cannot escape from.
A trapped piece is one that has wandered to a square where it has no safe retreat. Every square it can reach is either occupied or attacked. If you can attack the trapped piece, you win it for free or for much less than its value.
Bishops and knights are most often trapped, especially in the early game when they venture too far forward without enough support. A greedy bishop that grabs a pawn early can sometimes find itself with no escape route.
When you sense an enemy piece might be overextended, look for moves that cut off its retreat squares one by one. Often a pawn can do this cheaply.
Trapped Piece examples
White plays b4, trapping the black bishop on a3
The black bishop ventured to a3, hoping to pressure the queenside. White plays b4, and now the bishop is completely trapped - b4 is occupied, b2 has a pawn, and c1 has the white bishop. The a3 bishop has absolutely no legal moves that do not walk into capture. White can now win the bishop at leisure with Na4 or similar. Pieces that wander too far without support often end up like this.
The g5 pawn attacks the knight on h6, which has few escape squares
The black knight on h6 has retreated to the edge of the board where pieces are weakest. With the g5 pawn attacking h6, the knight must move - but where? f7 and f5 might be the only options, and both leave h6 vulnerable and the knight awkwardly placed. Corner and edge squares severely limit piece mobility. When an enemy piece is pushed to the rim, look for moves that attack it further or control its escape routes.
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