Double Attacks In Online Chess

Trajan
Double attacks can be very powerful and even game winning if played right. In fact the double check is the most powerful attack in online chess. It forces the enemy king to move and freezes the entire enemy army in place for at least one turn. When

first learning to play online chess, most people quickly learn that an attack against one piece can be dealt with in various ways. This is why double attacks are so strong. They force the enemy to lose something (usually the less valuable piece). I consider forks to be double attacks as well, but due to the many, many ways the different pieces can accomplish them, and their popularity on the online chess board, I gave them a whole article all to themselves. Most, if not all, of the positions in this article will be a double attack called a discovered attack. Let's take a look at the first position:


It's white to move and I bet you already found the right move. 1. Bxh7+! Kxh7 2. Qxd5 and white should go on to an easy win. Lets take a look at a similar position from one of my own games. Trajan vs Cvrclek-chessmaniac.com


Blacks last move was Qxd4?? picking up a pawn. I clearly see that I have a possible discovered attack threat on the queen, so i use this to my advantage. 1. Rxe6+! (and I win the pawn, with the idea of 1. ... Kd8 2. Nxf7+ Kc8 3. Nxh8). However, black did not see the discovered attack and played 1. ... fxe6 2. Bg6+ and black resigned because of the inevitable loss of the queen. Discovered checks can be quite deadly too,


I'm sure you already see 1. Ne4+ picking up the black queen. This next example is from a study done by A. Troitzky in 1896:


It's White's move and he would really like to queen the pawn, however black's rook has other ideas for that pawn. Can you figure out a winning line for white? 1. Rc8! now if 1. ... Rxa7 2. Kb6+ wins the rook and later the game. Any other move fails black as well. Here's another position, this one's from Maric-Gligoric, Belgrade, 1962:


Black is down in material and his pawns are a mess. But it's his turn and he couldn't be more happy. Why? 1. ... Rb3! and white resigns, because 2. Qxa5 Rxb1 mate, 2.Qc1 Rxb1 3. Qxb1 Qxf5 wins decisive material. The next position is from Seirawan-Korchnoi LasPalmas, 1981:


White is down material, but can get it all back and then some. Can you figure it out? I hope you didn't say 1. Qxc5?? because of 1. ... Qxb2+ 2. Kxb2 Nd4+ winning back the queen and having the endgame advantage. Now try 1. Qf8+ Ka7 2. Qxc5+ Ka8 3. Qc8+ and Black resigns because of 3. ... Ka7 4. Nb5+ wins the queen. Next is a study by A. Kakovin, 1961:


What are you thinking? That White may be up a knight, but its trapped and when the black king gets to g3 its lost? It's a good thing that its whites move then. 1. Bc7 Kg3 2. Ng6 Bxg6 3. f5+(threatening both king and bishop) Kg4 4.fxg6 and it goes on to queen.

People miss this sort of tactic all the time, be on the look out for them and maybe next time your playing online chess you can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.