Chessy
What Is a Pin in Chess?
A pin is a tactic where a piece cannot move without exposing a more valuable piece — or the king — standing behind it on the same line to attack.
Pins are one of the first tactics worth mastering — practice spotting them in free puzzles on Chessy.
Play free against the Chessy engine →Absolute vs. relative pins
There are two kinds. An absolute pin immobilizes a piece completely because moving it would put the player's own king in check — that move is simply illegal. A relative pin is looser: the pinned piece could legally move, but doing so would lose a more valuable piece standing behind it, so moving it is a bad idea rather than an illegal one.
How pins win material
Once a piece is pinned, it effectively stops defending itself the way it normally would, because it's frozen (or reluctant) to move. Attackers exploit this by piling more pressure onto the pinned piece — adding a second attacker so it's defended fewer times than it's attacked — winning it outright.
Common places pins appear
Pins along the diagonal from a bishop or queen, or along a file or rank from a rook or queen, are everywhere in the middlegame. A classic example is a bishop pinning a knight in front of the king in the opening, restricting the knight's usefulness for the rest of the game unless the pin is broken.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between an absolute and a relative pin?
An absolute pin makes a move illegal because it would expose the king to check. A relative pin allows the move legally, but it would lose material or position, so it's discouraged.
Can a pinned piece still capture?
Only if the capture stays on the same line as the pin. Otherwise, an absolutely pinned piece cannot move at all, since doing so would be illegal.
How do you win material with a pin?
By adding more attackers to the pinned piece than it has defenders, since the pinned piece often can't safely move away to escape.
How do you break a pin?
Common ways include moving the piece behind the pin out of the line, blocking the line with another piece, or capturing the pinning piece.