Tactics

What is a Horwitz bishops in chess?

  • Tactics
  • Forcing
  • Pattern

Horwitz bishops is a tactical concept: a player's light-square bishop and dark-square bishop placed so that they occupy adjacent diagonals, creating a potent attack. Also called raking bishops, and sometimes Harrwitz bishops. Do not stop at naming the motif; calculate the forcing line that makes it work.

What to look for on the board

  • Checks, captures, and threats.
  • Loose pieces and unsafe kings.
  • A forcing sequence, not just a pattern name.

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