TacticsPlay as white

Hanging Pieces

Find the piece nobody is defending — the cheapest material in chess.

Introduction

Most games below master level are decided by pieces left standing alone. A piece is "hanging" when it is attacked and nothing defends it — you just take it. Learning to see hanging pieces is the fastest rating you will ever gain.

Lesson Content

Try this position

Look at the black knight on c5. The white king on d4 attacks it. Now look for a black defender: the king on b3 is too far, and the pawns on a4 and b4 point the other way. Nothing covers c5. Take it — White is a piece up.

Hanging Piece

Try this position

1. ..♔︎xc5

Which black piece is attacked and has no defender?

♔︎xc5 — Take it. A king is a perfectly good capturer when no enemy piece can answer — and with the knight gone, White is simply a piece up.

Hanging Piece

Alternative Moves

♘︎f6 — Moving the knight away ignores the free piece. Black replies 1...♘︎e6+, hitting the king and the f4-pawn, and the a- and b-pawns start running — in an endgame a running pawn becomes a queen, and White cannot stop both.

Try this position

2. ♖︎xd4+

Two black pieces are attacked. Only one of them has a defender.

♖︎xd4+ — White attacks two black pieces at once. The rook on e3 is defended by the bishop on d4 — but the bishop on d4 is defended by nobody. Take the undefended one. It arrives with check, and the rook on e3 falls next move.

Hanging PieceRemoving the Defender

Alternative Moves

♖︎xe3 — This grabs the defended piece. Black recaptures 1...♗︎xe3+, and after 2.♔︎xe3 the rooks are gone: White has a bishop against Black's three extra pawns — dead equal. ♖︎xd4+ wins rook and bishop for nothing.

Try this position

Sometimes your own pieces are hanging too, so count before you grab. White's knight on g5 is attacked by the queen on h6 — but the queen on f4 defends it. The black knight on e6 has no defender at all — so it is free, and taking it leaves White a piece up.

Hanging Piece

Try this position

3. ♘︎xe6

Count the defenders of e6 — then count what happens if the queens come off.

♘︎xe6 — Take the free knight. If Black answers 1. ..♕︎xf4, White recaptures with 2. ♘︎xf4 and stays a whole piece ahead.

Hanging Piece

Try this position

The black bishop on a4 is loose, and the white rook on a1 is already pointing down the a-file. Which move wins it?

Hanging Piece

Try this position

What makes a piece "hanging"?

Hanging Piece

Key Takeaways

Attacked + undefended = hanging. Take it.
When two enemy pieces are attacked, take the one nobody defends.
Count your own loose pieces before you capture — a free piece is only free if the recapture works out.

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

Spot the Threat

The Fork

The Pin

Summary

Hanging pieces are the first thing to look for on every move: scan the enemy pieces, ask which of them are attacked, then ask which of those have a defender. The one with no defender is yours.

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Practice Interactively

Next in this course

Mate in One

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