In this level, your opponent is attacking one of your pieces. You have to defend against the threat, and avoid a checkmate.

See the course introduction for an explanation on how to defend against threats and avoid your opponent's tactics.

Examples

The rook on h4 is attacking Black's queen on h6. The queen has two safe squares: g6, and f6. 1...Qf6 would allow 2.Qxh7#. Therefore, Black has to defend with 1...Qg6.

Sometimes you have to be a bit more creative to save the game:

Black's queen forks White's queen and rook. How can you defend? 1.Qxe4 would be a mistake, as the queen would no longer defend d1, and 1...Rd1# would be back-rank mate. 1.Qb3 (or 1.Qb1) would protect the rook and d1, but White's queen would be overloaded and Black could win with the deflection 1...Qxb7 2.Qxb7 Rd1#. 1.Rb8!! is the only good defence. Black cannot take the rook because of 1...Rxb8 2.Qxe4, nor the queen because of 1...Qxc2 2.Rxd8#.

How to Spot Tactics to Avoid

In these avoid levels, you have to spot any threats of your opponent before your move, and also after your move. This is good practice so you don't fall in the traps set by your opponent.

If you don't spot the threat, or the line to be avoided, you can always check the solution page, which shows both.

Related levels