Defend piece and avoid attacking pinned piece
Master this and many more motifs
systematically with
Puzzle Academy
Defend an attacked piece, and avoid losing a pinned piece to an attack.
See the course introduction for an explanation on how to defend against threats and avoid tactics for your opponent.
Examples
Black should defend the attacked knight with 1...f6, breaking the pin, and avoid 1...Kf6? 2.f4, which would lose the pinned knight.
White should unpin and defend the attacked knight with 1.Re3, but not 1.Rc8? Bb4, losing the knight because the counter-pin with 2.Rb8 does not help since 2...Rxc3+ comes with check.