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Decoy (chess)

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Honfi vs. Barczay, Kecskemet 1977
abcdefgh
8
c8 black rook
e8 black rook
g8 black king
b7 black pawn
g7 black bishop
h7 black pawn
a6 black pawn
d6 black pawn
f6 black queen
g6 black pawn
b5 black knight
d5 white pawn
c4 white pawn
e4 white bishop
h4 white pawn
b3 white knight
d3 white queen
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
e2 white rook
b1 white king
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Black to move

In chess, decoying is the tactic of ensnaring a piece, usually the king or queen, by forcing it to move to a poisoned square with a sacrifice on that square.

Example

In the diagram, with Black to play, illustrates two separate decoys. First, the white queen is set up on c4 for a knight fork: 1... Rxc4! 2. Qxc4. Next, the fork is executed by removing the sole defender of the a3-square: 2... Qxb2!+ 3. Rxb2 Na3+ 4. Kc1. Finally, a zwischenzug decoys the king to b2: 4... Bxb2+. After either 5.Kxb2 Nxc4+ 6.Kc3 Rxe4, or 5.Kd1 Nxc4, Black is two pawns ahead and should win comfortably.

Perhaps the most celebrated game featuring a decoy theme is Petrosian vs. Pachman, Bled 1961,[1] which also involved a queen sacrifice.

See also

Notes