Tactics
What does discovered attack mean in chess?
- Line
- Reveal
- Tempo
Moving one piece out of the way to reveal an attack from a rook, bishop, or queen behind it.
What to look for on the board
- A rook, bishop, or queen blocked by one of your own pieces.
- The moving piece can make a threat while uncovering another threat.
- The revealed line hits a king, queen, or undefended piece.
Discovered Attack FAQ
What does discovered attack mean in chess?
Moving one piece out of the way to reveal an attack from a rook, bishop, or queen behind it.
Discovered Attack: how do you spot it on the board?
Look for: A rook, bishop, or queen blocked by one of your own pieces.; The moving piece can make a threat while uncovering another threat.; The revealed line hits a king, queen, or undefended piece..
Discovered Attack: how do you get better at it?
The strongest discovered attacks make two threats: the moving piece creates one, and the uncovered line creates another.
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 PGN analysis runs Stockfish 19 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.
Types and patterns
Related terms
Free game review
See where this pattern 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.
