King Safety

What does luft mean in chess?

  • Escape
  • King
  • Defense

An escape square for the king, usually created by moving a pawn to prevent back rank mate.

Luft FAQ

What does luft mean in chess?

An escape square for the king, usually created by moving a pawn to prevent back rank mate.

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.

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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.