Short answer: Teach attraction as a two-part idea: first lure an enemy piece, often the king, onto a chosen square, then punish it there with a fork, check, or mate. Start from the final picture, ask students how to get the piece to that square, and practice the theme in short, single-theme sets.
Attraction is one of those tactics students nod along to in the lesson and then never find in a game. The idea is easy to say and surprisingly hard to spot, because the first move usually looks like a mistake. It gives something away, and students have spent months learning not to do that.
This guide gives you a plain way to teach it, with a step-by-step method, a comparison with similar themes, a worked example in words and the questions that help students find it.
What is attraction in chess?
Attraction is a tactic where you force or tempt an enemy piece onto a particular square so that a second tactic can follow. It is sometimes called a decoy. The target is often the king, because a king pulled out of its shelter is easy to check, fork, or mate, but any piece can be attracted.
Every attraction has two parts:
- The lure. A move, often a sacrifice or a capture with check, that gives the enemy piece a reason (or no choice but) to land on a certain square
- The punishment. The follow-up that works because the piece is now on that square, such as a fork, a discovered attack, or a mating attack
If students only see the lure, it looks like a blunder. If they only see the punishment, they cannot work out how to get there. Teaching both halves together is the whole job.
Why do students miss attraction?
Students miss attraction because the lure goes against their instincts and because they only think about where their own piece ends up. A few specific habits get in the way:
- The giving-away instinct. They reject any move that loses material before they have looked at what happens next
- Looking at their own piece only. They ask what their move does, not where the enemy piece will be after it responds
- Not asking what is forced. If a capture is the only legal reply, the position after it is predictable, but students rarely stop to picture it
- Calculation that ends too early. They see the sacrifice and stop, before the second move arrives
Each one points to a different fix, so it helps to ask a student to talk through a missed attraction out loud before you decide what to teach.
How do you teach attraction step by step?
Teach it backwards: show the punishment first, then ask how to make it happen. Students find the lure much more easily when they already know where the enemy piece needs to end up. A simple sequence:
- Check the prerequisites. Students should already be comfortable with forks, checks, and basic sacrifices. Attraction leans on all three, and our posts on teaching forks and teaching sacrifices cover the groundwork
- Name the two parts. Say it plainly: "first we lure, then we punish". Put those two words on the board and keep using them
- Show the end position first. Describe a position where an enemy piece sits on a square that is a disaster for it, and ask what you could do if it were standing there
- Ask how to get it there. Let the student hunt for the forcing move that drags the piece onto that square. Resist telling them
- Check whether it is forced. Teach them to ask "must it take, or could it decline?" A lure that the opponent can safely ignore is not an attraction
- Mix in decoys. Once they have the idea, add positions where no attraction exists, so they learn to judge rather than assume
The fifth step catches the most students out. A sacrifice that the opponent is free to refuse is only a gift, and it is worth spending a full lesson on the difference.
How is attraction different from deflection and sacrifices?
Attraction moves an enemy piece onto a square, deflection moves it off a duty, and a sacrifice is often the tool used for either. Students mix these up because they overlap, so a short comparison helps:
| Theme | What happens to the enemy piece | Question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Attraction | Lured onto a chosen square, then punished there | Where do I want that piece to stand? |
| Deflection | Pulled away from a job it is doing | What is that piece defending? |
| Sacrifice | Material is given up, often to start one of the above | What do I get back for it? |
The easiest shorthand for students is "deflection sends it away, attraction brings it here". Our post on teaching deflection uses the same approach, so the two lessons fit together well. For the bigger picture of how every theme fits into a teaching plan, see our complete guide to teaching chess tactics.
What does a worked example look like?
Here is a made-up illustration, described in words rather than as a specific position, of how you might run the exercise in a lesson.
Imagine the enemy king is sheltering behind a few pawns, and you have a knight that would fork the king and the queen if the king were standing one step further forward. Right now it is not, so the fork does nothing. You also have a rook that can capture a pawn beside the king with check, and the king's only legal reply is to take the rook.
Walk the student through it in this order:
- Show only the end picture: the king on the exposed square, your knight ready. Ask "what would you play here?" They find the fork quickly
- Now go back one step and ask "how could we get the king onto that square?" Let them search
- When they find the rook capture with check, ask "does the king have a choice?" The answer is no, which is what makes it an attraction
- Finally ask them to say the whole idea in one sentence: "give up the rook with check, the king has to take, then the knight forks the king and queen"
That last step matters. A student who can say the idea in a sentence can usually find it again in a new position. A student who only followed your moves cannot.
Want the practice sets built for you?
Chess Tactics Mastery: Coach Edition covers attraction as one of 12 themed months, with 25 puzzles a day in an interactive app or on printable pages. One payment of £97 ($130), unlimited students, no logins.
What questions help students find attraction?
Questions that make students picture the enemy piece's next square work better than any explanation. Keep a short list and use the same ones every time:
- Which enemy piece is the most exposed if it moves?
- Is there a square where that piece would be forked, checked, or trapped?
- Can I force it there with a check or a capture it has to answer?
- Does it have to take, or can it ignore me?
- What do I have ready to punish it once it arrives?
Repeat them until students start asking them unprompted. That is the point at which attraction moves from a puzzle skill to a game skill.
How much practice does attraction need, and what goes wrong?
Attraction needs short, regular sets on its own first, then mixed in with other themes. Because the lure feels wrong at first, students need to meet it many times before it starts to feel natural. Keep each set small enough to finish in one sitting.
As a made-up example week, you might set ten attraction puzzles a day from Monday to Thursday, then five attraction puzzles mixed with five fork puzzles on Friday so the student has to decide which idea applies. These numbers are only an illustration, so adjust them to your student.
Common mistakes to watch for:
- Teaching attraction before students are secure with forks and checks
- Showing only positions where the lure works, so students never learn to judge whether a reply is forced
- Explaining the full idea before the student has had a go
- Moving on after one lesson instead of returning to the theme in later weeks
- Letting students stop calculating after the sacrifice, before the punishment arrives
Bringing the theme back for a few puzzles every week helps too. Research on test-enhanced learning by Roediger and Karpicke (2006) found that practicing recall beats re-reading, which is a good reason to make students find the lure themselves rather than watch you play it.
FAQ
What is attraction in chess?
Attraction is a tactic where you lure an enemy piece, often the king, onto a particular square so a second tactic can follow. The first move is usually a sacrifice or a forcing capture, and the follow-up wins material or gives mate.
Is attraction the same as a decoy?
Yes, the two names are often used for the same idea. Both describe luring an enemy piece onto a square where it can be punished. Some coaches prefer one word, so pick whichever you like and use it consistently with your students.
What is the difference between attraction and deflection?
Attraction brings an enemy piece to a chosen square, while deflection drags it away from a duty such as defending a piece or guarding a square. A handy shorthand for students is that deflection sends it away and attraction brings it here.
When should I teach attraction?
Teach it after students are comfortable with forks, checks, and simple sacrifices, because attraction combines all three. It tends to sit in the middle or later part of a tactics course rather than at the start.
Why do students find attraction hard to spot?
The first move often gives material away, which goes against what they have been taught. They also tend to look at their own piece rather than where the enemy piece will end up. Backward teaching, starting from the end position, helps.
How many attraction puzzles should a student do?
There is no fixed number. A short daily set on this one theme, small enough to finish in one sitting, works well. Careful attempts matter more than volume, so ask students to find the lure before looking at the solution.
Where to go next
Read the complete guide to teaching chess tactics, or see how Chess Tactics Mastery: Coach Edition gives your students a month of attraction practice, alongside the other eleven themes. If you are also working out how to set and check practice between lessons, our guide to chess homework for students covers it.
