Discovered Attack

A discovered attack is a powerful chess tactic that can surprise your opponents and help you win plenty of games. 

Here is what you will learn in this article:

• What Is A Discovered Attack In Chess?
• Types Of Discovered Attacks
• How To Take Advantage Of A Discovered Attack
• Common Discovered Checks In Practice
• How To Practice Discovered Attack Puzzles On ChessKid
• Wrapping Up
• Discovered Attack Video

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What Is A Discovered Attack In Chess?

A discovered attack happens when you move one of your pieces to uncover an attack from another piece in your army. Here is an example:

The bishop wants to go after the Black king, but his buddy is on the way.

In this case, our piece, the bishop on f2, is blocked by its teammate, the pawn on c5. We can move the pawn to unleash the power of the discovered attack.

A discovered attack in action!

The c5-pawn moves to c6. With that move, we are not only uncovering a check from our bishop on f2 but also attacking the black rook on d7. They can’t save their rook without getting their king out of check first, so we win material.

White’s bishop has a discovered attack on Black’s king. Once the king moves, White can capture the rook and be in a winning position.

Discovered attacks are dangerous for your opponent because they allow you to make two attacks at once. The first attack comes from the piece you move, and the second comes from the piece you uncover. This sneaky tactic often leads to winning material.

Discovered attacks are harder to see coming compared to skewers and pins. This makes them super powerful. However, they all have one thing in common: you need a long-range piece like a queen, rook, or bishop to create a discovered attack.

Types Of Discovered Attacks

As we just saw in the example above, one of the strongest discovered attacks is when a check is involved. This type of attack is called a discovered check.

There’s also something even cooler: a discovered checkmate.

Can you see the strongest move for White in this position?

White has the devastating move 1.Bc5#! It’s a discovered attack, a check, and… a checkmate! Game over!

Discovered checkmates are rare but beautiful when they happen.

There is another type of discovered attack known as a double-check.

Let’s look at the next position:

Where would you move your knight if you were White?

White has many discovered attack options as you can see in the highlighted orange squares. But which one is the strongest?

1.Nd6 might appear tempting- delivering a check and threatening Black’s rook at the same time.

Is this discovered check a good move?

Black can take White’s queen with 1…Rxc4, so that's not a good move. This defense works well for all the discovered checks except one.

1.Nh6+! This is the strongest move, delivering a double-check. When faced with a double-check, the only option is to run! Black has two escape squares: 1…Kf8, which leads to a forced checkmate on the next move with 2.Qf7#.

This leaves us with the other escape 1…Kh8, which sets up a beautiful checkmate in two moves called a smothered mate. It’s a more advanced but very pretty type of checkmate. Let’s see it!

How To Take Advantage Of A Discovered Attack

One of the best things about a discovered attack is that it can surprise your opponent, leaving them unable to defend against the multiple threats it creates.

Let’s look at the following position with White to move:

What would you play here for White?

As you might have guessed, there are many discovered attacks with the bishop on c5. But not all of them are great, and only one is the winning move.

Thinking of 1.Bf8+ may look good at first as moving the bishop gives a check with the rook while threatening Black’s queen.

An example of a wrong discovered check that doesn't work well.

This is not the best move. Black can simply play 1…Qxc1, stopping the check and escaping the queen capture.

Let’s try again. Is there a move that delivers a check, threatens Black’s queen, and keeps our rook safe? Yes, there is!

An example of a strong discovered attack that wins Black's queen.

1. Be3! Now, Black can’t save their queen or capture the rook. White is winning!

Common Discovered Checks In Practice

One of the most common discovered checks happens in the Petrov's Defense. The game starts with the following moves:

Now, Black usually plays 4…Nf6, but this is a big blunder and White can deliver a deadly discovered check. Do you see it?

White has one very strong move to gain a winning advantage.

5.Ng6+ might look tempting, but there is an even stronger move. What is even better than threatening to win Black’s rook? If you said the queen, you are absolutely right!

With 5.Nxf7 we are attacking the queen with a discovered check. But wait, Black can just capture White’s knight with 5…Kxf7. So, let’s find something even better.

5.Nc6+ is a crushing discovered check that wins Black’s queen, regardless of what they do.

A crushing discovered attack and check that wins the queen.

They don’t have many options, as the king can’t escape, and the piece delivering the check (White’s queen on e2) can’t be captured. The only move is to interpose a piece between the king and the queen. On the next move, White can capture Black’s queen, thus gaining a crushing advantage.

This shows why a discovered attack can be so tricky. Normally, 5.Nc6 would be a terrible move since not one, not two, but three pieces could capture the knight. However, in this case, the knight and queen work together perfectly, leaving Black no time to capture the knight before it delivers the final blow.

How To Practice Discovered Attack Puzzles On ChessKid

Enough theory! It’s time to hit the chessboard and practice what you’ve learned. ChessKid offers lots of puzzles to help you master the discovered attack. Head to our dedicated Discovered Attack puzzles page here.

Enjoy!

Wrapping Up

Congratulations! You're now familiar with one of the most effective tactics that can win you many games. Study these discovered attack examples carefully and add them to your chess repertoire.

Discovered Attack Video

Check out the video below to see all these ideas in action and learn even more from FunMaster Mike!