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Chess Moment · Learn · Lesson 3

Loose pieces

Protect, capture, do not hang.

3 min · 3 steps

This is the written edition of an interactive lesson. In the app you play every position on the board; here you read it.

Step 1 · A piece nobody guards

White to move

FEN: r5k1/p3b1pp/2n5/8/8/2N2B2/PP3PPP/R5K1 w - - 0 1

A piece with no defender is loose. Look at the three marked black pieces and find the one you can take for free.

Which black piece can you take for free?

Quick check

  • The knight on c6
  • The bishop on e7
  • The rook on a8
Show the correct answer

Correct answer: The knight on c6 — Yes — nothing guards c6, and your bishop on f3 sees it along the long diagonal.

  • The bishop on e7 — The knight on c6 guards e7 — and none of your pieces attacks e7 anyway.
  • The rook on a8 — Nobody guards a8, but none of your pieces can reach it. A loose piece only matters when you can attack it.

Step 2 · Take it

White to move

FEN: r5k1/p3b1pp/2n5/8/8/2N2B2/PP3PPP/R5K1 w - - 0 1

Bishop from f3 to c6.

The move: Bf3xc6

Bishop takes knight, and nothing can take back: c6 had no defender. That is a free piece.

Common mistake: The knight on c6 is still there. Your bishop on f3 reaches it along the diagonal: f3 to c6.

Step 3 · Do not hang your own

White to move

FEN: r1bqkbnr/1ppp1ppp/p1n5/1B2p3/4P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 0 4

Now the other way round: the pawn on a6 attacks your bishop. Do not leave it hanging — retreat the bishop to a square no black piece attacks.

The move: Bb5-a4

Safe. Your bishop stepped back and stays in the game.

Common mistake: Your bishop can still be taken. Retreat it to a4, c4, d3, e2 or f1 — no black piece attacks those squares.

What you learned

Before you move, ask two questions: which of their pieces has no defender — and which of mine?

Practise this idea

Public-domain positions that turn on exactly what this lesson taught.