Week 10 — Discovered Attacks
Coach-facing guidance for a 60-minute lesson on discovered attacks.
Lesson objectives
- Students can define a discovered attack in their own words.
- Students can identify the hidden long-range attacker, the blocking friendly piece, and the target.
- Students prioritize moving the blocker with check, capture, or a strong threat.
- Students solve short discovered-attack combinations of 1–3 moves.
Prerequisite knowledge
Students should already know legal movement for all pieces, check/checkmate, basic captures, and the idea of a forcing move. They should be comfortable tracing rook files/ranks and bishop diagonals.
Key teaching language
Child-friendly phrase
“Move the curtain, wake up the piece behind it.”
Coach vocabulary
Hidden attacker · blocker · opened line · discovered check · double check · forcing move · target.
Recognition routine
L-B-M-T: Line (rook/bishop/queen line) → Blocker (your piece in the way) → Move (prefer check/capture/threat) → Two jobs (what does each piece attack after the move?).
60-minute lesson plan
| Time | Activity | Coach focus |
|---|---|---|
| 0–6 min | Review line pieces | Rook files/ranks, bishop diagonals, queen lines. |
| 6–14 min | Teach the definition + L-B-M-T | Use Examples 1–3. Ask “what is blocking the line?” |
| 14–30 min | Worked examples 4–7 | Prioritize checks and explain why forcing moves matter. |
| 30–38 min | Guided recognition with Examples 8–10 | Students name hidden attacker, blocker, target before seeing the move. |
| 38–52 min | Exercises 1–7 | Students solve independently; use hints only after a real attempt. |
| 52–57 min | Exercises 8–10 / mini-game | Finish the set or play a short position-search game: “find one hidden line each move.” |
| 57–60 min | Exit questions | One student explains L-B-M-T in their own words. |
How to present the visual examples
- Cover the move text with your hand or screen crop.
- Ask the student to point to the hidden attacker first.
- Ask which friendly piece is blocking it.
- Ask where the blocker can go with tempo.
- Only then reveal the orange move arrow and trace the newly opened line.
Common student mistakes
- Only watching the moving piece: remind them to look behind it after every candidate move.
- Moving the blocker to a random square: insist on check, capture, or threat when possible.
- Assuming the line is open: trace every square between hidden attacker and target.
- Forgetting the opponent can answer check: ask “after they respond, is the target still there?”
- Calling every clearance a discovered attack: the move must reveal a real attack by the piece behind.
Questions the coach should ask
- Which piece is asleep behind your own piece?
- What enemy target is on the same line?
- Can the blocker move with check?
- What does the blocker attack from its new square?
- After the opponent’s forced reply, what do you win?
Age-specific coaching advice
For ages 8–10, keep each calculation branch short. Have students physically point along the line rather than naming many coordinates at once. Use the words “hidden attacker” and “curtain” before introducing “discovered attack” formally. Praise correct identification of the pattern even when the final move order needs correction.
Differentiation
| Group | Adjustment |
|---|---|
| Weaker | Use Examples 1–6 and Puzzles 1–5. Ask only: attacker, blocker, target. Allow one hint immediately. |
| On-level | Complete all 10 puzzles. Require the student to say the full L-B-M-T routine before moving. |
| Advanced | Before revealing the answer, require a full 2–3 move line and ask whether the moving piece creates a second threat or a double check. |
Follow-up / homework
- Replay the 10 exercises without hints two days later.
- In one online or over-the-board game, mark any moment where a rook, bishop, or queen was hidden behind a friendly piece.
- Create one legal discovered-attack position with both kings on the board and explain the hidden attacker, blocker, and target.
Sources and provenance
- ChessGo.In — “Discovered Attack Puzzles”, Easiest difficulty PDF. https://www.chessgo.in/pdf/Discovered_Attack_puzzles_Easiest_difficulty_ChessGo.in.pdf. Exercises 1–9: redrawn from source positions; side to move and answer sequence preserved and chess-validated.
- ChessGo.In — “Discovered Attack Puzzles”. https://www.chessgo.in/puzzles/discovered-attack. Preferred puzzle-source page and topic framing.
- Lichess Open Puzzle data — puzzle CEw9w (rating 844, theme: discoveredAttack). Public dataset record mirrored by ardauzunoglu/lichess-subset. Exercise 10: position after the setup move, with principal variation preserved.
- Chess.com — “Discovered Attack - Chess Terms”. https://www.chess.com/terms/discovered-attack-chess. Concept definition adapted and paraphrased.
- Lichess Practice — “Discovered Attacks”. Lichess practice page. Concept framing adapted: the moving piece can create a second threat while the hidden piece is revealed.
- Project file — chess_board_visual_reference.html. Canonical SVG geometry, palette, glyph treatment, coordinates, highlighting, arrows, orientation, and print size used throughout this package.
All boards in this package are newly rendered as inline SVG. No source screenshots, external piece images, external fonts, or CDN board libraries are embedded.