FoxyChess › Tactics › Clearance
Clearance
Move one of your own pieces out of the way, often with a sacrifice, to clear a square or open a line for another of your pieces.
How to spot it
One of your own pieces is in the way. It occupies the square your queen needs, or blocks the line your rook or bishop wants to use. Move it with tempo, with a check or a capture, so your opponent has no time to react before the piece behind it strikes.
A worked example
The rook on d8 sits on the square the queen needs. 1.Rxf8+! clears it with check; 1…Kxf8 2.Qd8# with the bishop on g5 protecting the queen.
Why it works
Your pieces can get in each other's way just as the opponent's can. A clearance sacrifice gives up the blocking piece, often for nothing, because the piece that replaces it does far more damage. It is the mirror image of interference.
How to defend against it
When an enemy piece leaves a square or a line with a check, look at what has just been uncovered behind it, and count how many of your opponent's pieces can reach your king afterwards.
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