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Deflection in chess

Deflection is forcing an enemy piece away from an important job, usually with a check or a capture it has to answer.

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touch_appTry it: Force a defending piece away from its job, then take what it was guarding.

What is a deflection in chess?

Deflection is forcing an enemy piece away from an important job, usually with a check or a capture it has to answer. Whatever it was guarding (a piece, a square or the back rank) is left undefended.

  • Ask which enemy piece is doing an important job: guarding a piece, a square or the back rank.
  • Look for a check or capture that piece must respond to. If it does, its job is undone.

How it works, step by step

Deflection means forcing an enemy piece away from an important job. Many pieces have a job: guarding another piece, a square, or the back rank. If you force that piece to move, usually with a check or a capture, the thing it was guarding is left alone.

How to spot it: ask "which enemy piece is doing an important job?" Then look for a check or a capture that piece has to answer. Here Black's queen on c1 is guarded only by the rook on c8.

A worked example

Deflect the defender: White to move. Force a defending piece away from its job, then take what it was guarding.

Solution: 28.Re8+ Rxe8 29.Qxc1. Re8+! The king can't take the rook (your queen guards e8) and can't run, so Black must play Rxe8. Now nothing guards the queen: Qxc1 wins it. The rook was deflected from its job.

Ask Wingo why it works

Wingo, our coach, never works out chess moves on its own. Stockfish finds the best line, chess.js writes down the facts of the position, and Wingo's explanation is built from that analysis. This is its real answer for "Deflect the defender", unedited (a person checked it before it went on this page).

1 · Position + engine

2 · Fact sheet (chess.js + Stockfish)

Side to move: White.
White: king g1, queen e1, rook e3, pawn b4, pawn a3, pawn f2, pawn g2, pawn h2.
Black: king f8, queen c1, rook c8, pawn a7, pawn b7, pawn f7, pawn g7, pawn h7.
Material: White 19, Black 19 (level).
Loose/under-defended pieces: none.
Defenders and attackers (verified):
Black rook c8: defended by queen c1; attacked by nothing.
White rook e3: defended by pawn f2, queen e1; attacked by queen c1.
Black queen c1: defended by rook c8; attacked by queen e1.
White queen e1: defended by rook e3; attacked by queen c1.
Line-ups (verified geometry): Black rook c8 and Black king f8 are on the 8th rank (nothing between them); White rook e3 and Black queen c1 are on a diagonal (nothing between them); White rook e3 and White king g1 are on a diagonal (with the pawn f2 between them); Black queen c1 and White queen e1 are on the 1st rank (nothing between them); Black queen c1 and White king g1 are on the 1st rank (with the queen e1 between them); White queen e1 and White king g1 are on the 1st rank (nothing between them).
White's legal moves (25): pawn b4: b5; pawn a3: a4; rook e3: Re4, Re5, Re6, Re7, Re8+, Rf3, Rg3, Rh3, Re2, Rd3, Rc3, Rb3; pawn f2: f3, f4; pawn g2: g3, g4; pawn h2: h3, h4; queen e1: Qf1, Qd1, Qxc1; king g1: Kh1, Kf1.
Engine best line: 28.Re8+ Rxe8 29.Qxc1 g6 30.h4 a5 — winning (+5.4) for White.
Best move theme: double attack.
After Re8+, the opponent's reply is forced (only one legal move).

3 · What the coach said

The idea is to play Re8+. When the white rook goes to the square e8 it gives check, so Black must answer with the only legal move, Rxe8. By capturing the checking rook, Black’s rook moves off the back‑rank and is no longer protecting the queen on c1. Now the white queen on e1 can capture that queen with Qxc1, winning a piece. So the rook’s check forces the defending rook to leave its post, and that “deflection” (pulling the defender away) lets the queen take the queen that was previously safe. Tip: When you see a piece that is the only defender of something important, look for a checking move that forces that defender to move; if it has to leave its guard, you may be able to capture the now‑undefended piece.
Engine line: Re8+ Rxe8 Qxc1 g6 h4 a5. In the app you can ask Wingo about any position, and about your own wrong moves.

Solve deflection puzzles at your level

extension12 deflection puzzles from real games, in three levels. Find the move; a wrong try is explained. No account needed.

Beginner · under 1200

Improver · 1200–1599

Intermediate · 1600+

Puzzles from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0), each checked by Stockfish.

Do you miss deflections in your own games?

Our mistake finder checks your recent games with Stockfish and lists the 3 mistakes you repeat most. Missed deflections are counted under "Missing forks and double attacks". Every mistake it finds becomes a puzzle from your own game, so you practise exactly the positions you got wrong.

Check my Chess.com gamesarrow_forwardEnter your username. Free, about a minute.Check my Lichess gamesarrow_forwardEnter your username. Free, about a minute.Check my Wings Chess gamesarrow_forwardUses the games you play here, after 5 games.

Use it in a real game

Puzzles tell you a deflection is there. In a game nobody does. Play Gambit Gus, one of our bots that think at a human pace and make human mistakes, and look for the pattern yourself. The coach can point it out afterwards if you miss it.

Play Gambit Gus (900)arrow_forwardA showman. Throws pawns at you from move one.About Gambit Gusarrow_forwardHow this bot plays, and tips to beat it.

Train this in the app

Lesson: Deflect the defenderarrow_forwardForce a defending piece away from its job, then take what it was guarding. With hints, stars and your progress saved.Endless deflection puzzlesarrow_forwardRated puzzles on this theme at your level, plus puzzles made from your own mistakes.

Keep going

Decoyarrow_forwardA decoy (or attraction) is a sacrifice that lures an enemy piece, usually the king, onto a square where it can be attacked.Removing the Defenderarrow_forwardRemoving the defender means capturing (or chasing away) the one piece that protects something important.Pinarrow_forwardA pin is when a piece can't move because a more valuable piece stands behind it on the same line.Opening: Sicilian Defensearrow_forwardAs Black, fight 1.e4 with ...c5. It's an unbalanced game where Black plays for a win.