Beginner tactic · 6 of 11
Attacking f2 and f7
An early attack on the pawn beside the king, the one pawn that only the king defends.
- Learn how it worksThree examples with Capra. You play each one yourself.Three examples with CapraStart the lesson
- Practise on real puzzlesPractise on puzzles80 attacking f2 and f7 puzzles, from easy to very hard.0 of 80 solvedGo to the puzzlesGo to the puzzles
Three pieces land on f7
When the game starts, only the king guards f7. One attacker with a second piece behind it is often enough.
Queen on f7
The queen has taken on f7 with the bishop behind her. It is checkmate.
Knight on f7
The knight has taken on f7 and forks the queen and the rook.
Bishop on f7
The bishop has taken on f7 with check, and the king has to step out to e7.
Attacks on f2 and f7 in numbers
Counted from the 2,819 attacks on f2 and f7 in our puzzle library, all taken from real games- 1 in 100
of our puzzles has an attack on f2 or f7 in it.
- 95%
of them end in checkmate.
- 50%
of them come in the middlegame.
Which piece makes the first move
- Queen85%
- Bishop14%
- Pawn1%
- Knight0%
- Rook0%
What it wins
- Checkmate95%
- Queen2%
- Rook1%
- Bishop0%
- Knight0%
Good to know
Attacks on f2 and f7: common questions
What is an attack on f2 or f7 in chess?
It is an attack on the pawn that starts next to the king: f7 for Black, f2 for White. Only the king defends that pawn, so two attackers can win it, and sometimes the capture is checkmate.
Why are f2 and f7 weak?
Every other pawn starts the game with a rook, a bishop, a knight or the queen defending it. The f-pawn has only the king. A bishop on c4 and a queen or a knight can both aim at f7 within the first few moves.
What is Scholar's Mate?
A four-move checkmate on f7: 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Qxf7 mate. The queen takes on f7 with the bishop behind her. Black stops it on move three with g6 or Qe7.
How do I defend f7?
Develop your knights and bishops, and castle early so that a rook guards the f-pawn. Do not spend moves on the edge pawns while an enemy bishop and knight are aimed at f7.