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Chess Tactical Motifs - Removal of the Guard

The Removal of the Guard tactic occurs commonly in beginner and novice games. It involves attacking or capturing a critical defending piece. This tactic can get quite complicated, but we'll stick to basic examples.

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White to Play.

Consider the diagram to the right. White is attacking the black Rook, which is protected by the d5 Bishop. If white plays 1. Rxf3, black recaptures with 1... Bxf3 - an even trade.

White has a better move. She can utilize the removal of the guard tactic by playing 1. Rxd5+ ! After the recapture 1... cxd5, the black Rook is now undefended! White can play 2. Rxf3. This sequence wins a Bishop + Rook for a Rook.

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White to Play.

In this example, white wants to take advantage of black's weak back rank with Rd8 mate. But d8 is protected by both a Knight and Rook. How can white remove both guards?

Qxb8+ ! Now black must play 1... Nxb8 (the alternative 1... Nd8 is no better). Both defenders have been removed, and white ends the game with 2. Rd8# - mate.

This example makes use of a Back Rank Mating Combination. We'll take a look at back rank mates in more detail shortly.

You'll have a chance to work on some removal of the guard exercises on the next page.


Back - Next
Chess Tactics - Table of Contents
Introduction - What Are Tactics?
Piece Safety - Exercises (1) - Exercises (2)
Counting - Exercises (1) - Exercises (2)
Tactical Motifs Introduction
The Fork - Exercises
The Knight Fork - Exercises
The Pin - Exercises
The Skewer - Exercises
The Discovered Attack - Exercises
Removal of the Guard - Exercises
Back Rank Checkmates - Exercises (1) - Exercises (2)
Conclusion