The attraction tactic

Chess tactics

What is attraction in chess?

Attraction lures an enemy piece, often the king, onto a square where it can be attacked or checkmated. You usually sacrifice something to drag it there. It is the opposite of deflection: instead of pushing a piece away, you pull it in.

How to spot it
  • Look at the squares around the enemy king. Which one, if the king stood there, would be checkmate or lose a piece?
  • Find a sacrifice that forces the king (or queen) to capture on that square.
  • Count the follow-up before you sacrifice: attraction only works if the next move is decisive.
A common mistake

Sacrificing without a follow-up. If the lured piece is not punished at once, you have just lost material.

Try it: real puzzles
Example 1: White to move
Show the solution

37. d7+ Kxd7 38. Ra7+ Kc6 39. Rxg7

Example 2: White to move
Show the solution

27. h7+ Kxh7 28. Rh3+ Bh6 29. Rxh6+ Kg8 30. Rh8#

Example 3: White to move
Show the solution

30. Rxh7+ Kxh7 31. Rh3+ Bh6 32. Qf7+ Kh8 33. Rxh6#

Example 4: Black to move
Show the solution

30... Rxf1+ 31. Kxf1 Rd1#

Train attraction puzzles in ChessPeak

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