Tactical motifs
Removing the defender
Capture or trade the piece that guards your real target.
What is the removing the defender?
Removing the defender (also called capturing the guard) is the most direct way to break a defence: you take, trade, or chase off the piece protecting your target. With the guard gone, the target is yours.
Why the removing the defender matters
It sounds obvious, yet it is the single most useful question in tactics — "what defends that?" Strong players judge captures not by what they win immediately but by what they leave undefended. This theme builds that habit.
How to use it to win
Before you write off a defended piece as untouchable, count its defenders and look for a way to eliminate the key one — a capture, a fork that wins it, or a threat it must answer by moving. Then take.
Try an example puzzle
A real removing the defender puzzle from the app. White to move — find the idea, then reveal the line.
7 
2 
g Show solution
1. Nxc6 bxc6 2. Bxe4
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