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Intermediate · 5/20
Deflection and decoy
Force an enemy piece away from an important duty or onto a bad square.
Learn this chess concept step by step, then practise it on the interactive ChessRivo board.
Open interactive lessonAbout this lesson
Deflection removes a defender from its job, while a decoy attracts a piece to a square where a tactic works.
Key ideas
- Checks and captures are common deflection tools.
- A decoy can pull the king onto a mating square.
- Always identify the duty you want the enemy piece to abandon.
Coach tip: Tactics become easier when you describe the defender’s job in one sentence.
Test yourself
A decoy tactic tries to…
- Attract a piece to a specific square
- Hide your queen
- Create a draw offer
Show answer
Correct answer: Attract a piece to a specific square
Practise this lesson interactively
Open the ChessRivo Academy board exercise for this exact lesson. Your progress is saved when you are signed in.
Open interactive lessonHow to use this lesson in a real game
Turn the idea into a repeatable decision process.
- Before moving, name the position feature this lesson is about.
- Find one candidate move that follows the lesson idea and one alternative.
- After the game, return to the critical position and compare your choice with the lesson.