Attacking motifs
Double check
By Antoine TamanoUpdated
Two pieces give check at once. The king has to move: nothing can block or capture both.
A double check is a discovered check where the front piece also gives check. Two pieces attack the king at once, from two different lines. Against a single check there are three defences: capture the checking piece, block the line, or move the king. Against a double check only the third remains: no single capture or block can stop two lines at once. The king moves, and everything else waits.
What makes it WORK is exactly that: the reply is forced, so the two checking pieces can stand on squares where they would otherwise be taken. A knight lands next to the king with a queen hanging behind it; a rook drops onto an undefended square with check; and none of it can be captured, because the king has to move first. On the next move, the piece that was hanging takes the prize, or the second piece delivers mate on the square the king was forced to.
How to spot it: start from a battery aimed at the enemy king (a rook or a queen behind a knight, a bishop behind a pawn or a knight) and look at every square the front piece can reach that also attacks the king. A knight is the best front piece, because it checks from squares no line piece covers. Then read the king's squares: if it has one, is that square a mate? If it has two, is the front piece safe on both?
At higher level the double check is what a sacrifice was for. A queen is given up to pull the king onto a line; a pawn is pushed to open the file; and the double check that follows wins the queen back with interest, or ends the game. When you see a king near an open line with a knight of yours nearby, ask: which move gives two checks?
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