What is pin in chess?

Pin (Chess) — Definition & Examples

Tactics

Definition

A pin is a tactic in chess where a piece is attacked and cannot move without exposing a more valuable piece behind it to capture. An absolute pin involves the king behind the pinned piece, making it illegal to move. A relative pin involves a lesser piece shielding a more valuable one.

Pins are one of the fundamental tactical motifs in chess, arising when a long-range piece (bishop, rook, or queen) attacks an enemy piece that is shielding a more valuable piece behind it. In an absolute pin, the shielded piece is the king, meaning the pinned piece literally cannot move by the rules. In a relative pin, the pinned piece can legally move but doing so would lose material.

Exploiting pins often involves piling up pressure on the pinned piece. Since the pinned piece cannot move (or should not move), additional attackers can target it until it becomes indefensible. A common pattern is pinning a knight to the king or queen with a bishop, then adding a pawn or another piece to attack the knight.

Defending against pins requires breaking the pin by interposing a piece, moving the more valuable piece off the line of attack, or counterattacking the pinning piece. Recognizing and responding to pins quickly is essential for tactical proficiency.

Related terms

SkewerA skewer is a tactic in chess where a valuable piece is attacked along a line, and when it moves out of the attack, a less valuable piece behind it is exposed and captured. It is essentially the reverse of a pin, with the more valuable piece in front rather than behind.ForkA fork is a tactic in chess where a single piece attacks two or more enemy pieces simultaneously, forcing the opponent to save one while losing the other. Knights are especially effective at forking because they can attack pieces that cannot attack them back due to their unique L-shaped movement.X-RayAn x-ray (or x-ray attack) is a tactic in chess where a long-range piece exerts influence through another piece occupying the same line. The attacking piece indirectly defends a square or targets an enemy piece behind an obstruction, as if seeing through the intervening piece with x-ray vision.Discovered AttackA discovered attack is a tactic where a piece moves out of the way, revealing an attack from another piece behind it on the same line. The moving piece can simultaneously create its own threat, making it extremely difficult for the opponent to handle both attacks at once.

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