Tactics

What is a Decoy in chess?

  • Lure
  • Forcing
  • Tactic

Luring or forcing a piece onto a bad square where it becomes vulnerable or blocks its own side.

Decoy FAQ

What is a decoy in chess?

Luring or forcing a piece onto a bad square where it becomes vulnerable or blocks its own side.

How do you get better at using a decoy?

A decoy is about the destination square. Ask: what bad thing happens once that piece is forced there?

Train this pattern on your own games

Reading a definition is not the same as spotting the pattern with a clock running. Chessiro's free game review runs Stockfish 18 over every move you play, names the concept behind each mistake, and turns the positions where it cost you into training puzzles. You can also see the idea in action in the classic games collection, where the greatest players in history demonstrate it.

Related terms

Free game review

See where decoy decides your games

Chessiro reviews your games with an AI coach that names the concept behind every mistake, then drills you on the exact positions where it happened until you stop repeating them.