What is an absolute pin in chess?

An absolute pin is a tactic in which a long-range piece (a queen, rook, or bishop) attacks an enemy piece that is in front of the king on the same line. Because moving this pinned piece would place the king in check, which is illegal, the pinned piece is unable to move until the pin is broken.

The white queen, the black knight and king are all lined up on the same diagonal. The knight is legally unable to move.

How do you create an absolute pin?

Look for places when your opponent's king and another of their pieces share the same line. Then ask yourself: can your queen, rook, or bishop land on that line to create an absolute pin? Before you commit, make sure the square your piece lands on is safe. If your opponent can simply capture your pinning piece, you may lose material instead of winning it.

The white bishop slides up the diagonal, capturing a pawn and pinning the black rook to its king. Engine-verified position, Elo 554.

How do you defend against an absolute pin?

You have a few options:

• Move the king off the line so the pin disappears.
• Block the line by placing one of your own pieces between the pinning piece and the pinned piece, or between the pinned piece and the king.
• Capture the pinning piece.
• Counterattack by creating a threat so urgent that your opponent can't exploit the pin.

The black queen is pinned to its king by the white rook. Black moves the king off the file to break the pin.

What makes an absolute pin different from a relative pin?

In a relative pin, the piece behind the pinned piece is something valuable but not the king. That means the pinned piece can still legally move, it's just usually a bad idea because it exposes the more valuable piece behind it. In an absolute pin, the piece behind the pinned piece is the king itself. The rules of chess forbid a king from moving into check, so the pinned piece legally cannot move off that line at all.

The white rook moves vertically, placing the black queen in an absolute pin.

See it in action

Example 1: Rook exploits an absolute pin

Find the absolute pin and exploit it.

Solution: Black's rook moves three squares, creating an absolute pin on the knight. It's illegal for the knight to move. The rook then captures the knight, delivering check.

Example 2: Bishop wins material through an absolute pin

Find the absolute pin and capture.

Solution: The white bishop moves diagonally two squares, pinning the black queen to its king in an absolute pin. Black moves their king to break the pin, but white captures the queen.

Example 3: Absolute pin forces material loss

Find the absolute pin and win material.

Solution: The white rook moves to the back row. The black queen is now pinned to the king in an absolute pin. The black queen captures the rook, and the white queen recaptures.

Frequently asked questions

Can any piece create an absolute pin?

Only long-range pieces (queens, bishops, and rooks) can create an absolute pin. A knight cannot pin because it doesn't attack along straight lines. Pawns and kings are also unable to create pins, because they can only attack one square away at a time.

Can a player ever escape an absolute pin without moving their king?

Yes. If a piece blocks the line between the pinning piece and the king, or blocks the line between the pinning piece and the pinned piece, the pin breaks. Capturing the pinning piece also works. The king doesn't always need to move to break an absolute pin.

Is an absolutely pinned piece completely useless?

Not entirely. By chess rules, a pinned piece still restricts the enemy king from the squares it attacks.