Chess, like war, like football, is a game of ATTACK and DEFENSE. In this lesson we look at three words, ATTACK, DEFENSE and THREAT and see how they apply to a game of chess.

If a piece is in a position to CAPTURE another piece this is an ATTACK. You'll learn later that sometimes you might want to attack SQUARES as well as pieces. But in this lesson we look at ATTACKS ON PIECES.

Suppose I ATTACK one of your pieces and you have a piece which can TAKE ME BACK if I take you. This piece is a DEFENDER. ATTACK and DEFENSE is what chess is all about.

An ATTACK on an UNDEFENDED PIECE is a THREAT. An ATTACK on a piece which is not defended enough is a THREAT. An ATTACK on a STRONGER PIECE by a WEAKER PIECE is a THREAT. If your opponent's move creates a THREAT you MUST do something about it. If you play a few moves you'll see how it works. If you like, get out a chess set and play through the moves yourself.

Both players start by putting a Pawn in the center. Then White DEVELOPS a Knight, THREATENING a Pawn. Black MUST do something about this THREAT. He can't move the Pawn but he has several ways to DEFEND the Pawn. How many can you find?

Black DEFENDS his THREATENED Pawn by DEVELOPING a Knight, and White moves up his other center pawn. We now have a complicated position in the center. White is now ATTACKING Black's center Pawn TWICE while Black is only DEFENDING it ONCE. Black MUST do something about this THREAT.

Now look at the position again, but this time focus on the Pawn White's just moved. Black is ATTACKING this Pawn TWICE, with a Pawn and with a Knight. White is DEFENDING it TWICE, with a Knight and with a Queen. Black can now make some EXCHANGES.

Black CAPTURES White's Pawn with his Pawn and White TAKES BACK with his Knight (THE ONLY GOOD MOVE!). It would have been a bad mistake for White to take back with the Queen instead. Do you see why? (If you have a choice of two or more CAPTURES on the same square it's almost always right to start with the weaker piece. Now Black could, if he chooses EXCHANGE KNIGHTS. (EXCHANGES LIKE THIS HAPPEN IN EVERY GAME OF CHESS.)

Black decides not to EXCHANGE KNIGHTS. Instead he DEVLOPS a Bishop. This move creates a THREAT. White's Knight is ATTACKED TWICE but only DEFENDED ONCE. White MUST do something about this. He can EXCHANGE KNIGHTS himself. He can MOVE his KNIGHT to a SAFE SQUARE. He can DEFEND his KNIGHT again. Do you see how he can do this with either a Bishop or a Pawn?

Now look at this position. White's just moved his Queen. The Queen's ATTACKING THREE Pawns. Two of them are DEFENDED. The other one isn't so Black should DEFEND that Pawn on his next move.

In this position, White has just moved his Queen. This move creates TWO THREATS. The Black Pawn in the center is ATTACKED by the White Queen but not DEFENDED. The Pawn in front of the BISHOP is ATTACKED TWICE, by the Queen and Bishop, but only DEFENDED once, by the King. Black MUST defend BOTH THREATS. He has two ways of doing this with his Queen. Can you find them both?

Finally, what's happening here? White's ATTACKING the same Black Pawn with his Bishop and his Knight. The Pawn is only DEFENDED once. This time Black CANNOT use his Queen as a DEFENDER because it is more valuable than the White ATTACKERS. The only way to DEFEND is to BLOCK the White Bishop by moving the Pawn in front of the Queen two squares.

You've now reached the end of the lesson. To return to the main menu press "finish" To repeat the lesson press "start" Click here for a quiz on ATTACKS, DEFENSES & THREATS.