Advanced tactic · 2 of 15
Removing the defender
Capture the piece that guards something, then take what it was guarding.
- Learn how it worksThree examples with Capra. You play each one yourself.Three examples with CapraStart the lesson
- Practise on real puzzlesPractise on puzzles80 removing the defender puzzles, from easy to very hard.0 of 80 solvedGo to the puzzlesGo to the puzzles
Three things a defender guards
A defender can guard a piece, a mating square or the back rank. Capture the defender and they fall.
It guards a piece
The knight takes the guard with check, and the rook on d5 has no defender.
It guards a mating square
The bishop takes the knight, and nothing guards h7 against the queen.
It guards the back rank
The queen takes the rook with check, and the back rank is open for the rook.
Cases of removing the defender in numbers
Counted from the 397 cases of removing the defender in our puzzle library, all taken from real games- 1 in 700
of our puzzles has removing the defender in it.
- 26%
of them win a rook. No other prize is as common.
- 69%
of them come in the middlegame.
Which piece makes the first move
- Rook32%
- Queen25%
- Bishop20%
- Knight17%
- Pawn6%
What it wins
- Rook26%
- Bishop26%
- Knight23%
- Queen14%
- Checkmate1%
Good to know
Cases of removing the defender: common questions
What is removing the defender in chess?
Removing the defender is capturing the piece that guards something, then taking what it guarded. That can be a piece, a square your pieces want, or a checkmate.
What is the difference between removing the defender and deflection?
Removing the defender captures the guard, so it leaves the board. Deflection leaves the guard on the board and forces it to move away. Both leave the same thing unguarded.
Is it worth giving up material to remove a defender?
Often, yes. Count what you win afterwards. If the capture leads to mate or wins more than it costs, a rook for a knight, or even a queen for a rook, is a good trade.
How do I find the defender to remove?
Pick a target you attack that is guarded only once, and ask which piece guards it. If you can capture that piece, best of all with check, the target is usually yours on the next move.