attack · recognise → explain → apply

Use knight checks to switch targets

Repeated checking squares let a knight redirect toward a valuable piece.

Explanation styleChoose any style. Age is not playing strength; no birth date is needed.

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Timman, Jan H – Short, Nigel D

Candidats final · 1993.??.?? · 0-1

29. Rc1 · Black to move

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What to notice at 29. Rc1

Short’s ...Nxf3+, ...Nh2+ and ...Nf3+ sequence preceded ...Nxd4. The checks were connected to the rook on d4, not only to chasing the king.

A legally replayed historical example, not a claim that every move is best. A game’s result does not prove every defensive position was lost or drawn.

Game source ↗

Your thinking first

Name the signal, choose a plan, and test the opponent’s most challenging response.

What do you notice?What is your plan, and why?How could the opponent resist?

Recall and explain

1. Repeated checking squares let a knight redirect toward a valuable piece. How would you apply “use knight checks to switch targets”, and which defensive reply must you check?

Explain it in your own words before revealing.

Make it memorable

Use checks as stepping stones.

Teach this to a friend in one minute. Then return to a different example and look for the same signal without being told its name.

Reflect and revisit

This is your self-assessment, not an engine grade or a promise of mastery.

Connect the ideas

Practise pawn transformations →

Sources and further reading

Original LumaChess teaching and game analysis. Topic references are credited below; no affiliation or endorsement is implied.

Game-score provenance and further study ↗