♞Reflex Chess

When the winning move is not the active-looking one

The first four tactics you learn attack something. These six do not, which is exactly why they are missed: the move that wins often looks like it does nothing.

Everything in this section works by moving a piece for a reason other than where it lands. A discovered attack moves one piece so a different one attacks. A deflection captures something you do not want, in order to drag a defender off the square that mattered. A clearance moves your own piece out of your own way.

These are the patterns that separate a player who sees tactics from a player who finds them. They are also the ones most improvers skip, because they are harder to drill and there is no satisfying picture of a knight attacking two things at once.

Every motif in Sharper Tactics

Work through the section in order Where the move that wins is not the move that looks active. Five graded levels per motif, four positions a lesson. Open the course

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