Discovered Attack

Key Ideas

• Two pieces are involved: the one that moves, and the one whose line of attack was blocked.
• The moving piece is completely free to do whatever it likes — capture, check, or even fork — while also revealing the second attack.
• A "discovered check" is the most dangerous version, since the response is forced by the rules of check.
• Especially deadly when the moving piece itself also delivers a check or fork — a true double attack from one move.

How It Works

A discovered attack happens when a piece moves out of the way of a friendly long-range piece (rook, bishop, or queen), revealing an attack that piece had been blocking all along.

The key strength of the tactic is that the moving piece is entirely unrestricted — it can go anywhere, capture anything, or deliver a check of its own — while the discovered piece's attack happens automatically as a side effect.

When the revealed attack is check, it's called a "discovered check," and if the moving piece also gives check at the same time, it becomes a "double check" — the single most forcing tactical event in chess, since a double check can only ever be answered by moving the king.

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