Deflection and decoy

How to spot it

A deflection lures a defender away from its job. A decoy lures a piece onto a square where it gets into trouble. Both start with an offer, usually a sacrifice, a capture or a check, that the opponent cannot afford to refuse.

To spot a deflection, find the enemy piece with an important job: guarding the back rank, a mating square, a promotion square or another piece. Then look for a forcing move that makes it leave its post.

To spot a decoy, look for a square that would be a disaster for the enemy king or queen: a corner where it is smothered, a fork square, a line where it can be skewered or mated. Then ask whether a sacrifice can force it there.

Forcing moves first. The sacrifice only works if the opponent has no good way to decline it, so check what happens if they ignore it.

Puzzles

Ten puzzles, rated 700 to 1750. A wrong move shows the engine’s refutation, and a missed puzzle comes back for review.