Attraction and Deflection

Attractions and deflections are tactics you can use to force your opponent's piece to a square that it doesn't want to be on.

Attraction

Attraction is when you attract a piece to a square where it is weaker and you can attack it.

This is an example of attraction.

Here, White can actually end up capturing the black queen. How?

The key step is to capture the rook on a8 first.

The rook is now pinning the queen. If black doesn't save the queen, white will capture her.

The only way that Black can save the queen is to capture the rook. The queen is "attracted" to a8.

Do you see what's coming next?

The white knight can capture the c7 pawn, and it's a fork!

When the black king moves, the knight can capture the queen!

Deflection is really similar to attraction. You attract a defender to a square, and you can now attack the thing it was defending before.

This is an example of deflection.

Here, White can end up capturing the black queen. How?

The key step is to capture the f7 pawn first.

But White loses 3 points and only get one. Why is that move good?

Because it sets up the next move!

When the black king is "deflected" to f7, what piece isn't defended anymore?

Now you can capture the queen!

You lost 3 points (the bishop) but you got 10 back! (the pawn and queen)