Attacking motifs
Zwischenzug
By Antoine TamanoUpdated
A zwischenzug is an in-between move: instead of the expected recapture, a threat that must be answered first.
A zwischenzug is an in-between move: the opponent captures, expects the recapture, and instead gets a check or a threat that must be answered first. The recapture is played one move later, and by then the in-between move has changed the position: a defender is gone, a pawn has been pocketed, a tempo has been gained.
What makes a zwischenzug WORK is that the recapture does not run away. The piece you were going to take back is still standing on its square while the opponent deals with your check; it cannot move, because the check comes first. So the in-between move is free, provided it really is forcing. A check that can be ignored is not a zwischenzug, it is a lost piece.
The way to spot one is a habit: every time you are about to recapture, stop and look for a check or a capture of something bigger. Ask what defends the piece you want to take, and whether that defender can be taken with check right now. The most common shape is a capture with check on the piece that would otherwise recapture.
Above 1600 the zwischenzug is often not a check but a threat the opponent cannot afford to ignore, and its job is to remove the piece that would have punished the immediate recapture. The order of moves is the whole tactic; the moves themselves are the ones everybody saw.
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Questions
What is a zwischenzug in chess?
A zwischenzug, or in-between move, is a move played in the middle of an expected sequence instead of the recapture everybody is waiting for. It works when it carries a bigger threat than the one on the board, so the opponent has to answer it first and the original capture is still available afterwards, often on better terms.
What is the difference between a zwischenzug and an intermezzo?
There is none. Intermezzo is the Italian for the same idea and the two words are used interchangeably. Zwischenzug is the German and is the more common term in English chess writing.
How do you avoid missing a zwischenzug?
When a capture looks forced, check the checks and the captures before you recapture, for both sides. The move that beats an automatic recapture is nearly always a check, a capture or a threat against a bigger piece, and the reason players miss it is that they stopped calculating when the sequence looked settled.
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