On Monday we looked at an unusual end to a game where the final move was not only checkmate, but a double-check and a discovered check all at the same time.
In a double-check, where two pieces give check at the same time, the king must move. It’s not enough for one or other piece to be captured or blocked because the check from the second piece will remain.
Discovered checks are where one piece moves out of the way to reveal a check by a second piece. They can be powerful attacks, and it’s the piece which moves out of the way that usually does the damage. Here’s a simple example from the Petrov Defence:
- e4 e5
- Nf3 Nf6
- Nxe5 Nxe4
- Qe2 Nf6
- Nc6+
The knight moves out of the way revealing check by the white queen. Howsoever black chooses to block the check, their queen is lost to the knight.
Watch out particularly for pawn moves that reveal a check, often with the aim of the pawn then capturing a piece.
