Decoy in Chess
What is a decoy
A decoy is a tactic where you lure an enemy piece or the king onto a specific square where it can be hit: with a pin, a fork, a long-range attack or checkmate.
Most often it's the king that gets lured, with a piece sacrifice: the opponent has to capture, and their king ends up on a square that is convenient for the next blow.
How it differs from deflection
With deflection, you drive a piece away from a square it "needs", and where it goes isn't so important. With a decoy, it's the other way around: what matters to you is that the piece (or the king) lands on a specific square where your attack is ready.
In short: deflection says "get away from here", a decoy says "come right here".
Why it works
The opponent has to react to a sacrifice or a check: capture or move the king. If they have no choice, they are forced to put the piece exactly where you are waiting for it.
How to find a decoy
- Find the "right" square: where a fork or a pin would work, or where it would be easy to hit the queen/king.
- See which enemy piece could end up on that square: usually the king or the queen.
- Find a sacrifice or a check after which the opponent will have to come to that square.
- Calculate that after the decoy, your next blow pays back the material you gave up.
Tips to spot the idea faster
For kids
Imagine you are fishing. You cast the bait, the fish grabs it and gets caught on the hook. In chess, the bait is your piece. The opponent takes it and walks right into the spot where your next attack is waiting.
The main thing is to pick the right "bait", one they can't refuse.
For adults
Work the ideas backwards: first find the perfect winning setup (a fork, a mate on the edge of the board), and then look for a sacrifice that "delivers" the king or queen to the right spot.
A decoy is often combined with a double check, a knight fork and a back rank mate.
Examples
Try it yourself: make a move on the board. If you get stuck, press "Show solution".
1. A rook sacrifice on h8, and the knight wins the queen with a fork
Idea: the black king on g8 stands next to the open h-file. White wants to fork with the knight from f7: from there the knight would attack the king on h8 and the queen on d8.
Rh8+! - the rook sacrifice lures the king to h8: Black has no other move. After Kxh8 comes Nxf7+ with a double attack: the king moves away, and the knight takes the queen on d8.
Solution: The knight took the queen on d8: the rook sacrifice lured the king to h8, into a fork from f7.
2. A bishop sacrifice on g7 pulls the king out into a fork
Idea: the black king on h8 is shielded by the pawn on g7. White wants to fork with the knight from f5, but for that the king has to be on g7.
After Bxg7+ the king has to capture: the g8 square is covered by the knight on e7. After Kxg7 comes Nf5+: check to the king and an attack on the queen on d6. The king moves away, and White takes the queen.
Solution: The knight took the queen on d6: the bishop sacrifice dragged the king out to g7, into a fork from f5.
3. A rook sacrifice lures the queen onto a mating square
Idea: Black's queen on d8 protects the e8 square against mate. White sacrifices the rook to lure the queen to e8, a square where the white queen on e1 can take it right away.
Re8+! - the queen has to capture (Qxe8) and lands on the mating square. With Qxe8# White completes the combination.
Solution: Qxe8# - the black queen is lured to e8 and captured, and it's a back rank mate.