deflection

The idea

An enemy piece is doing something important: guarding a square, holding a pawn, shielding the king. You create a threat it cannot ignore — and it is forced to leave its post. At that moment the blow it was holding back goes through.

How it looks

Your opponent's rook defends the square where you want to mate. You give check with the queen — the rook must capture or block, and the square is left undefended.

How to spot it

Find the enemy piece that is in the way of your plan. Ask: what happens if it disappears? If the answer is "I win", look for a way to drive it off.

You can deflect with a check, with an attack on something more valuable, or with a mate threat — anything your opponent is forced to answer.

Often confused with

A decoy. Remember it simply: in a deflection what matters is that the piece left. In a decoy, where it arrived.

Sometimes both apply at once: the piece was driven off a key square and lured onto a bad one. Then both tactics are present, and both labels are correct.