The pin

The key idea

You don't rush to capture a pinned piece: you attack it ONE MORE TIME. It can't flee — every new attacker is a threat the opponent can no longer answer by moving the victim.

Example 1 · Attacking the immobile: harvesting the pin

Black's knight on e5 is absolutely pinned by the rook: moving is illegal. Watch the whole recipe — attack it with the cheapest thing you have.

1. d4 The move of the lesson: a PAWN attacks the immobile piece. The knight is attacked three times (pawn, knight, pinning rook) and defended once. Under normal circumstances it would jump to safety… but jumping is illegal: it would leave its king under the rook on e1.
2. Kf8 The king abandons the file, admitting the tragedy! Undoing the pin was the only theoretical hope — but it comes one move too late: the knight can no longer be saved.
3. dxe5 The harvest begins: the pawn eats the paralysed knight.
4. dxe5 Black recovers the pawn. The damage is already done.
5. Nxe5 And the knight finishes the clean-up: a whole piece ahead. Review the mechanics, because it's ALWAYS the same: the pin fixes the target, and the cheap attackers line up. The engine rates it a clear win — it all started because the knight couldn't do what every knight does: jump.

Example 2 · Living pinned: the calm defence

The other side of the coin: your knight on c6 gets pinned right in the opening. No panic — support, order, and the pin dies of boredom all on its own.

1. e4 The center.
2. e5 Mirror.
3. Nf3 Development with a threat.
4. Nc6 A defence that develops.
5. Bb5 The Ruy Lopez you already know — seen today through the lens of the pin: the bishop ties the knight against the LATENT threat of taking on e5. It's still a mild, relative pin… and yet it's uncomfortable.
6. d6 The Steinitz Defence: e5 gets propped up and the drama drops a notch. First rule for the pinned side: SUPPORT what the pin actually threatens.
7. d4 White raises the pressure on the e5 point, as their lesson dictates.
8. exd4 The necessary trade BEFORE anything else: letting White's center swell would indeed be a problem. Living pinned doesn't mean living passively.
9. Nxd4 A natural recapture… which leaves the bishop on b5 pinning into thin air, with no plan to cash in.
10. Bd7 And the second rule: UNPIN by developing. The bishop steps into the diagonal and the knight on c6 breathes again: there's no king behind it anymore. Notice the style — not a hint of panic, two useful moves.
11. Nc3 More White development.
12. Nf6 Development, and the verdict: the pin came, it was uncomfortable, and it left — for nothing in return. Pins live off the panic of the pinned side: support, unpinning through development, and zero rushing turn them into a footnote. When you're the one pinned, remember this example before any trick.

Practice

The knight on e5 is absolutely pinned. Carry out the complete recipe: attack it with the cheapest piece, harvest in order, and keep the piece.

1. The move of the lesson: the pawn attacks the immobile piece. Three attackers, one defender, and the victim has no right to flee. The pinned knight can't move. Attack it ONE MORE TIME — with the cheapest piece that can reach it.
2. Harvest begun: the pawn eats the paralysed knight. The king fled but it's too late: capture the knight with the pawn.
3. A clean piece ahead. The mechanics of the pin, carried out in full: fix, pile up, harvest. That's how absolute pins get cashed in — unhurried and without mercy. Finish the clean-up: recover the pawn by capturing on e5 with the knight.

The pin from both sides: as the executioner, you now know you attack the immobile piece again; as the victim — from Example 2 — you know support and a calm unpinning defuse the drama. It's the tactical resource you'll see the most times in your chess life: from today, you'll see it before your opponent does.