In Chess, Deflection is a tactic that forces an opposing piece to leave the square, row, or file where it has to remain because it is needed there to defend another piece.
Examples
The position below shows a good example of deflection.
White is threatening to promote the pawn, however if promoted, Black will just capture the promoted pawn with the Rook. Black is also threatening to capture the pawn.
It’s White to move though, and has one move that will force Black’s Rook to move to a different file allowing White to promote on the next move. White can use the deflection tactic and can pin Black’s Rook to the King, forcing Black to capture White’s Rook.
Deflection is similar to luring, but in luring a piece must be on the right square to enable an attack. In Deflection, there is an attack, but the defender has to be moved away in order to be successful.
Promoting a pawn can also be classified as an attack because when promoted, the promoted piece could be attacking other pieces depending on what the chosen promoted piece is.
I hope this guide on the Deflection Tactic helped you. if you liked this post, you may want to learn other Chess Tactics like the Discovered Attack and Interfering.
