Clearance

Why it matters

A clearance move gets your own piece out of the way of a better one. The square, file or diagonal you need is already occupied — by you — and the fastest way to use it is to leave, ideally with a check so the opponent has no time to object.

It is the hardest kind of move to look for, because nothing is being attacked. You are not asking what can I take, you are asking what would I play if that square were empty, and then arranging for it to be empty.

See it on a board

How to play it

1. Find the move you want to play and notice what is stopping it: your own piece standing on the square, or on the line.
2. Move that piece somewhere forcing — a check or a capture — so the opponent has to answer instead of defending.
3. Play the move you wanted. If the clearing piece was sacrificed, the tempo you bought has to be worth it.

At each level

The same idea, said the way it is taught at each age.

What goes wrong

• Clearing the square with a quiet move, so the opponent simply covers it in time.
• Sacrificing to clear a line that a defender can block again a move later.

Questions people ask

How is clearance different from a discovered attack?

In a discovered attack the piece that moves reveals an attack immediately. In clearance nothing is revealed yet: you are emptying a square or a line so that a different piece can use it on the following move.

Learn next

• Discovered AttackMove one piece aside and the piece behind it does the attacking.
• InterferenceDrop a piece between a defender and what it defends, and the line is cut.
• DeflectionForce a defender away from the job it was doing, then take what it was defending.