Tactical motifs · Basic
clearance
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The idea
Your own piece is in the way of the decisive blow: it occupies the square you need, or blocks the line of your own long-range piece. That piece steps away — often with check or as a sacrifice, so the opponent gets no time to react.
How it looks
A rook is aimed at the back rank, but your own knight sits in the way. The knight leaves with check, the opponent answers — and the rook arrives on the cleared line with mate.
Sometimes it is not a line but a square that is cleared: your piece leaves so another of your pieces can take its place.
How to spot it
Look at your long-range pieces and ask: what is stopping them from working? If the answer is one of your own pieces, think about where to send it usefully.
Move with tempo. A check or an attack denies your opponent the time to defend against what you are preparing.
Often confused with
A discovered attack. The distinction is clear: in a discovered attack the revealed piece attacks immediately, on the same move. In clearance no attack appears at once — the space is cleared for the next move.