TacticsPlay as white

The Attack on f7

Before castling, one pawn next to the king is guarded by the king alone. Learn how a bishop, a knight or a queen hits it — and what the hit wins.

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Introduction

Before the king castles, the pawn on f7 (f2 for White) has exactly one defender: the king. A bishop on the c4–f7 diagonal, a knight jumping in from g5 or e5, or a queen lined up behind the bishop can all hit it — and what the hit wins ranges from a pawn to a rook to the king itself.

Lesson Content

Try this position

Before Black castles, the pawn on f7 has exactly one defender: the king on e8. Two white pieces already aim at it — the bishop on c4 along the diagonal and the knight on e5. Whichever one lands on f7, the other guards it, so the king cannot take back. And the king has nowhere to run: d8 is covered by the rook on d1, d7 by the knight, and e7 and f8 are blocked by Black's own pawn and bishop — so a capture on f7 is checkmate.

King SafetyKing Attack

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1. ..Bxf7#

Checkmate with the bishop — the knight guards the square it lands on.

Bxf7# is checkmate. The king cannot take the bishop because the knight on e5 protects it, d7 and d8 are covered by the knight and the rook on d1, and e7 and f8 are blocked by Black's own pawn and bishop. One capture on the square only the king defended, and the game is over.

King AttackMating Net

Alternative Moves

Nxf7 — Nxf7 attacks the rook on h8 but lets the king live. Black answers Bf5, and if the knight then grabs the rook with Nxh8, Bh6+ wins the rook on d1 for the bishop — White has swapped a mate in one for a lost game.

Try this position

Usually the king can take back on f7, and then the bishop is simply lost — unless leaving e8 costs Black something bigger. Look at the black queen on d8: its only defender is the king beside it, and the white queen on d4 stares straight down the open d-file at it. A bishop check on f7 drags the king off e8, and the queen on d8 is left with no one to protect it.

DeflectionKing Attack

Try this position

2. ..Bxf7+

Give a bishop check that pulls the king away from the queen it is guarding.

Bxf7+ forces the king to take: Kxf7 is the only legal reply, because d7 is covered by the white queen and e7 is blocked by Black's own pawn. With the king gone from e8, nothing defends d8, and Qxd8 wins the queen for a bishop — a decisive material lead.

DeflectionKing Attack

Alternative Moves

Qxd8+ — Qxd8+ trades queens: Kxd8 and material is level, with nothing won. The order matters — the king has to be pulled off e8 first, and only then does the queen on d8 fall for free.

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3. Nxf7

Your knight is attacked by a pawn. Instead of retreating, find the capture that forks the queen and the rook.

Nxf7 takes the pawn and forks the queen on d8 and the rook on h8. The king cannot take back because the bishop on c4 guards f7, so Black saves the queen with Qe7 and White plays Nxh8, winning a rook and a pawn for the knight. Not every attack on f7 is mate — this one wins the exchange.

ForkKing Attack

Alternative Moves

Nf3 — Nf3 retreats and hands Black a free move: Nxe4 takes a pawn and attacks the queen on d2, and White is a pawn down with the king still in the centre.

Bxf7+ — Bxf7+ takes with the wrong piece: after Kf8 both the bishop on f7 and the knight on g5 are attacked, and White cannot save both — a piece is lost instead of a rook won.

Try this position

The queen attacks f7 too, and with a bishop behind her she is the deadliest attacker of all. Here the queen on h7 and the bishop on b3 both point at f7, and once more only the king on e8 guards the pawn. The king is stuck: d8 is taken by its own queen, and d7, e7 and f8 would all be covered by a queen standing on f7. One capture ends the game.

King AttackMating Net

Try this position

4. Qxf7#

Deliver mate with the queen — the bishop guards the square she lands on.

Qxf7# is checkmate: the bishop on b3 protects the queen so the king cannot take, d7, e7 and f8 are covered by the queen on f7, and d8 is blocked by Black's own queen. Black had an extra rook, and it did not matter — the attack on the square only the king defended ended the game.

King AttackMating Net

Alternative Moves

Bxf7+ — Bxf7+ is check too, but the king simply steps to d7 and escapes; the bishop wins nothing for its strike, and Black, with an extra rook, goes on to win.

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The queen on f3 and the bishop on b3 both aim at f7, and only the king on e8 defends it. Which move ends the game?

King AttackMating Net

Try this position

Why is f7 — and f2 for White — the weakest square on the board before castling?

King Safety

Key Takeaways

Before castling, f7 (and f2) is defended only by the king — castling fixes that by putting a rook on f8.
Two attackers make the capture safe: the second piece guards the first, so the king cannot take back.
Count what the capture wins before you play it — a pawn, a rook, the queen the king was protecting, or checkmate.

Now play it through

Step through every move on a real board, try the wrong ones, and ask Knighty why they fail.

Practice Interactively

Related Lessons

Back-Rank Mate

The Queenside Attack

Calculate the Line

Summary

Before castling, f7 and f2 are guarded by the king alone. Aim two pieces at the square — a bishop with a knight or a queen behind it — and the capture is safe. What it wins depends on the position: a pawn, a rook for the knight, the queen that the king was defending, or the king itself.

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Practice Interactively

Next in this course

Mate in Two

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