Student handout

Week 6 — Pin

Ages 8–1060-minute lesson10 puzzles

Today’s goal: Spot a piece that is “stuck in front” of something more valuable, then use that pin to win material or improve your position.

Lesson goal

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to recognize a pin, tell the difference between an absolute pin and a relative pin, exploit a pinned piece, and name at least one way to break a pin.

What is a pin?

A pin happens when a bishop, rook, or queen attacks an enemy piece and that piece has something more important behind it on the same line.

Absolute pin: the king is behind the pinned piece. The pinned piece may not move if that would expose the king to check.
Relative pin: a queen, rook, or another valuable target is behind the pinned piece. Moving is legal, but usually loses material.

Recognition routine: LINE → MIDDLE → BEHIND → USE IT

1. LINELook along bishop diagonals, rook files/ranks, and queen lines.

2. MIDDLEIs one enemy piece sitting in front?

3. BEHINDIs a king, queen, or more valuable piece behind it?

4. USE ITCan you capture the pinned piece, add an attacker, or make another threat?

Final safety check: Is the pin real? Can the opponent capture the pinning piece, block the line, or move the valuable piece away?

Worked visual examples

Worked example 1

Absolute bishop pin

Black to move · orientation: black

attackerpinned piecevaluable target

The bishop attacks the knight. The knight is frozen: moving it would uncover an attack on the king, which is illegal. This is an absolute pin.

AttackerWhite bishop on b5

PinnedBlack knight on c6

BehindBlack king on e8

Original teaching diagram

Worked example 2

Relative bishop pin

Black to move · orientation: black

attackerpinned piecevaluable target

The knight may legally move, but then the bishop would attack the queen. That makes this a relative pin.

AttackerWhite bishop on g5

PinnedBlack knight on f6

BehindBlack queen on d8

Original teaching diagram

Worked example 3

Rook pin on a file

Black to move · orientation: black

attackerpinned piecevaluable target

Rooks can pin too. The bishop sits on the e-file between the rook and the king, so the bishop cannot leave the file.

AttackerWhite rook on e1

PinnedBlack bishop on e6

BehindBlack king on e8

Original teaching diagram

Worked example 4

Queen creates a relative pin

Black to move · orientation: black

attackerpinned piecevaluable target

A queen can pin along a file. The knight can move, but doing so would expose the black queen behind it.

AttackerWhite queen on d1

PinnedBlack knight on d5

BehindBlack queen on d8

Original teaching diagram

Worked example 5

Real opening pattern: Sveshnikov relative pin

Black to move after 7.Bg5 · orientation: black

attackerpinned piecevaluable target

The bishop lines up the knight with the queen. The knight is not absolutely frozen, but moving it carelessly loses the queen.

AttackerWhite bishop on g5

PinnedBlack knight on f6

BehindBlack queen on d8

Redrawn/adapted from FIDE curriculum, Lesson Twenty

Worked example 6

Real opening pattern: Nimzo-Indian absolute pin

White to move after 3...Bb4 · orientation: white

attackerpinned piecevaluable target

Here the knight cannot move because the king is behind it on the same diagonal. This is the classic absolute pin pattern.

AttackerBlack bishop on b4

PinnedWhite knight on c3

BehindWhite king on e1

Redrawn/adapted from FIDE curriculum, Lesson Twenty

Worked example 7

Exploit a pin by adding another attacker

White to move · orientation: white

attackerpinned piecevaluable target

Once a piece is pinned, look for a second attacker. Here the queen also attacks c6, so the pinned knight is much harder to defend.

AttackerWhite bishop on b5

PinnedBlack knight on c6

BehindBlack king on e8

Original teaching diagram

Worked example 8

Pinned defender cannot recapture

White to move · orientation: white

attackerpinned piecevaluable target

The f7-pawn is pinned to the king. That matters because it cannot leave f7 to recapture a piece on g6 without exposing the king.

AttackerWhite bishop on c4

PinnedBlack pawn on f7

BehindBlack king on g8

Original teaching diagram

Worked example 9

Break a pin by blocking the line

White to move · orientation: white

attackerpinned piecevaluable target

Pins are not permanent. White can place the bishop from c1 on d2, blocking the diagonal behind the knight and freeing the knight to move later.

AttackerBlack bishop on b4

PinnedWhite knight on c3

BehindWhite king on e1

Original teaching diagram; defensive idea consistent with FIDE curriculum

Worked example 10

Relative pin across a rank

White to move · orientation: white

attackerpinned piecevaluable target

Pins can run sideways. The rook attacks the bishop, and the queen is the valuable piece behind it.

AttackerWhite rook on a4

PinnedBlack bishop on d4

BehindBlack queen on h4

Original teaching diagram

Pin checklist

The pinning piece must be a bishop, rook, or queen.
Attacker, pinned piece, and valuable target must lie on the same diagonal, file, or rank.
If the king is the target, ask: “Would moving the pinned piece expose check?” If yes, that move is illegal.
If a queen or rook is the target, the pinned piece can move legally — but calculate what is lost.
After finding a pin, do not stop thinking. Look for a second attacker, capture, check, or mate threat.
Before calling it a pin, check whether the attacker can simply be captured or the line can be blocked.

Your 10 puzzles

For every puzzle, first point to the attacker, the middle piece and the valuable piece behind it. Then choose your move. Open a hint only when needed.

Puzzle 1 White to move

White to move · orientation: white

Find a bishop move that creates an absolute pin.

Show / hide hint

Look for a diagonal where the knight would stand between your bishop and the king.

Puzzle 2 White to move

White to move · orientation: white

Put the rook on the right file to make a pin.

Show / hide hint

Which file contains both the black bishop and the black king?

Puzzle 3 White to move

White to move · orientation: white

Create a relative pin to the black queen.

Show / hide hint

Your bishop needs a square that attacks the knight first and the queen behind it.

Puzzle 4 White to move

White to move · orientation: white

Win the pinned piece.

Show / hide hint

The knight cannot run away. Which white pawn can take it now?

Puzzle 5 White to move

White to move · orientation: white

Win the piece that is pinned to the queen.

Show / hide hint

The knight is standing between your bishop and the black queen. Which pawn attacks the knight?

Puzzle 6 White to move

White to move · orientation: white

Can White take the queen safely?

Show / hide hint

Check whether the f7-pawn is really allowed to move away from the bishop–king diagonal.

Puzzle 7 White to move

White to move · orientation: white

Win the pinned bishop.

Show / hide hint

The bishop sits in the middle of a rook–queen line. Which pawn can capture it?

Puzzle 8 White to move

White to move · orientation: white

Use a second attacker to collect the pinned knight.

Show / hide hint

The knight cannot move away from the b5–e8 diagonal. Which rook can reach c6?

Puzzle 9 White to move

White to move · orientation: white

Break the pin without moving the knight.

Show / hide hint

Move the king off the diagonal in one legal king-and-rook move.

Puzzle 10 Black to move

Black to move · orientation: black

Find the bishop move that pins White’s queen to the king.

Show / hide hint

Look at the diagonal b4–c3–d2–e1. Can a black bishop enter that line?

Final review

1. Which three pieces can create a line pin?

2. What makes an absolute pin “absolute”?

3. In a relative pin, is the pinned piece legally allowed to move?

4. Name one way to break a pin.