Day 02 · Week 01
Checks, Captures & Threats (CCT) — The Forcing-Move Thinking System
The forcing-move thinking system. Search checks, captures, and threats before you choose a move.
1. Orientation
CCT is the forcing-move search. You run it before you choose a move, and you run it again for the opponent.
The routine is ordered. A later item does not get played while an earlier item is still uncalculated.
- CHECKS
- CAPTURES
- THREATS
- OPPONENT'S STRONGEST RESPONSE
- CALCULATE
- EVALUATE
- DECIDE
2. Day 01 Recall
Day 01 left one validated scan position. Qxf7 is mate. Qxe5 is also a check, and it is not mate.
The Opera Game board, the exercises, and the defensive position sit in Day 01. Return to them once the scan is familiar.
You will meet that same scan again in mixed practice, where the job is to compare the forcing moves instead of stopping at the first one.
3. What Is a Forcing Move?
A forcing move changes the opponent's choices now: check, capture, or a concrete threat.
An ordinary move asks for a plan. A forcing move asks for a line.
Legal is not the same as good. Available is not the same as best. The first forcing move is not necessarily the best move.
4. Checks
A check is the first scan because the opponent must answer it. Name the kind before you play it.
- Direct
- Discovered
- Double
- Contact
- Long-range
5. Check Visual Examples
These boards show the move. The practice set that follows uses different positions.
Which move is a direct knight check?
LESSON · difficulty 1 · check/direct · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Nd6+ is a direct check. The knight itself attacks the king. No other piece is uncovered.
Which move discovers check from the rook?
LESSON · difficulty 2 · check/discovered · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Bb1+ moves the bishop off the a-file. The bishop does not attack the king. The rook on a1 gives the check.
Which move is the double check?
LESSON · difficulty 3 · check/double · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Bc6+ is check from the bishop and from the rook on a1 at the same time. A double check cannot be blocked or captured away in one move: the king must move.
Find the contact checkmate.
LESSON · difficulty 2 · check/contact · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Qe7 is checkmate. The queen moves next to the king, and the bishop on f6 protects the queen, so the king cannot capture it.
Find the long-range check.
LESSON · difficulty 1 · check/long_range · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Rh8+ checks the king from the far end of the eighth rank. The rook itself gives the check, and it does not land beside the king.
6. Check Practice
Five checks. Find the move the question asks for. Hints are available here.
Find the direct checkmate.
PUZZLE · difficulty 1 · check/direct · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Which move discovers check?
PUZZLE · difficulty 2 · check/discovered · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Find the double check.
PUZZLE · difficulty 3 · check/double · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Find the contact checkmate.
PUZZLE · difficulty 2 · check/contact · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Find the long-range check.
PUZZLE · difficulty 1 · check/long_range · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
7. Captures
After checks, list captures. A capture changes material or removes a defender immediately.
- Free
- Tactical
- Recapture
- Removing Defender
- Clearance
8. Capture Visual Examples
A tactical capture can win material even when the piece is defended. That comparison is in the practice set, so this preview does not show its move.
Take the undefended rook.
LESSON · difficulty 1 · capture/free · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Qxa8+ captures a rook with no defender. The queen also checks, so the capture is free and forcing.
Black just played dxe4. Recapture with the rook.
LESSON · difficulty 2 · capture/recapture · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Rxe4+ recaptures the pawn that just took the knight on e4. Nothing else attacks that pawn.
Remove the only defender of the rook on d5.
LESSON · difficulty 4 · capture/removing_defender · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Nxf6+ takes the knight that alone defended d5 and gives check. Every legal reply loses the rook to Nxd5. The pawn on e5 protects the knight.
Which capture clears the d-file for the rook?
LESSON · difficulty 3 · capture/clearance · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Bxe5+ takes the pawn and steps off the d-file. The rook on d1 gives the check. The bishop does not attack the king.
9. Capture Practice
Take the undefended knight.
PUZZLE · difficulty 1 · capture/free · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
The queen is defended. Which capture still wins material?
PUZZLE · difficulty 3 · capture/tactical · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Black just played dxe4. Recapture.
PUZZLE · difficulty 2 · capture/recapture · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Remove the only defender of the rook, with check.
PUZZLE · difficulty 4 · capture/removing_defender · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Which capture clears the e-file for the rook?
PUZZLE · difficulty 3 · capture/clearance · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
10. Threats
A threat is not a check and not a capture yet. It is real only when ignoring it has a concrete cost.
- Undefended piece
- Mate threat
- Material threat
- Fork
- Promotion
- Concrete tactical consequence
11. Real vs Empty Threats
An empty threat can be ignored. A real threat cannot: the opponent's strongest reply has to answer it, or the piece, the mate, or the pawn falls.
In every threat below, at least one reply saves the target and at least one reply loses it. That is the difference you are training.
Threaten the undefended rook.
LESSON · difficulty 2 · threat/undefended · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Be3 attacks the undefended rook on a7. It does not check and it does not capture. Rb7 is one move that steps the rook away. If the rook stays on a7, Bxa7 wins it.
Find the quiet move that forces mate.
LESSON · difficulty 4 · threat/mate_threat · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Qa7 does not check. Kf8 is the only legal reply. Rd8 is then checkmate. The queen move is the mate threat. The rook finishes.
Fork the king and the rook.
LESSON · difficulty 3 · threat/fork · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Nf6+ checks the king and attacks the rook on h7. Every legal reply leaves the rook hanging to Nxh7, and the knight is not captured.
Promote to the strongest piece.
LESSON · difficulty 2 · threat/promotion · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
h8=Q+ promotes with check along the eighth rank. The queen covers every square a new rook would cover, and it also covers diagonals. Available promotions are not equal.
12. Threat Practice
Threaten the undefended knight. Do not capture it yet.
PUZZLE · difficulty 2 · threat/undefended · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Find the move that forces mate in two.
PUZZLE · difficulty 4 · threat/mate_threat · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Threaten the queen. Do not give check.
PUZZLE · difficulty 3 · threat/material · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Fork the king and the rook.
PUZZLE · difficulty 3 · threat/fork · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Promote. Choose the promotion that keeps every lesser piece's attack and adds more.
PUZZLE · difficulty 2 · threat/promotion · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
13. CCT Framework
Use the same order every move. CCT is a search tool. It is not a complete strategy by itself.
- Checks
- Captures
- Threats
- Opponent's strongest response
- Calculate
- Evaluate
- Decide
14. CCT + Opponent Response
Write the line in this order: my move, the opponent's strongest response, my next move. Do not award yourself the idea before the reply exists.
- MY MOVE
- OPPONENT'S STRONGEST RESPONSE
- MY NEXT MOVE
Calculate your move, the only reply, and the finish.
PUZZLE · difficulty 5 · mixed/opponent_response · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
15. Defensive CCT
Before your own plan, scan the opponent's checks, captures, and threats. A move that ignores their check is not a candidate.
- Their checks
- Their captures
- Their threats
You are in check. Before you do anything else, answer it. Which defense wins the queen?
PUZZLE · difficulty 3 · mixed/defensive · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
16. When CCT Is Not Enough
If the scan finds no forcing move with a concrete result, CCT has done its job and you are in a strategic position.
CCT does not choose a plan. It tells you that a plan is allowed.
- Worst piece
- King safety
- Pawn structure
- Strategic plan
- Prophylaxis
- Positional improvement
17. Mixed Practice
The first forcing move is not necessarily the best move. Compare the candidates, then calculate the reply.
Qxe5+ and Qxf7 are both forcing. Which one is mate?
PUZZLE · difficulty 4 · mixed/priority · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Several promotions are legal. Which one is strongest?
PUZZLE · difficulty 3 · mixed/comparison · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Two captures are available. Take the one that is free.
PUZZLE · difficulty 3 · mixed/comparison · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
18. Real Game Position
This position is Paul Morphy versus the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard, Paris 1858, before 16.Qb8+. The move and the reply were replayed from the game score. It is not an authored training position.
Paul Morphy vs the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard, Paris 1858. White to move. Play the move from the game.
PUZZLE · difficulty 5 · game/real_game · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
19. Day 02 Test
Ten positions. Hints are off. The result is stored with the concept, the difficulty, the time, and the error type.
Find the direct check.
TEST · difficulty 2 · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Hints are off in this mode.Find the discovered check.
TEST · difficulty 3 · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Hints are off in this mode.Take the undefended rook.
TEST · difficulty 2 · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Hints are off in this mode.Black just played dxe5. Recapture.
TEST · difficulty 2 · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Hints are off in this mode.Which capture clears the rook's file with check?
TEST · difficulty 3 · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Hints are off in this mode.Find the knight fork.
TEST · difficulty 3 · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Hints are off in this mode.Take the free piece.
TEST · difficulty 2 · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Hints are off in this mode.Find the move that forces mate in two.
TEST · difficulty 4 · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Hints are off in this mode.You are in check. Which defense wins the queen?
TEST · difficulty 3 · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Hints are off in this mode.Find the long-range checkmate.
TEST · difficulty 2 · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Hints are off in this mode.20. Master Challenge
Three harder positions. Hints are off. Calculate the reply before you commit.
Master: calculate the only reply before you choose.
MASTER_CHALLENGE · difficulty 5 · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Hints are off in this mode.Master: remove the defender and take the rook against every defense.
MASTER_CHALLENGE · difficulty 5 · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Hints are off in this mode.Master: the queen is defended. Which capture still wins material?
MASTER_CHALLENGE · difficulty 5 · 0s · attempts 0 · hints 0
Hints are off in this mode.21. Performance Report
Accuracy, time, concept, difficulty, attempts, hints, and error type come from the moves you submit on this page.
Not enough data yet.
22. Personalized Training
Not enough data yet.
23. Reflection
Name one check you almost missed, one capture you compared, and one threat that was only real after the opponent's reply.
If the report has no submissions yet, that reflection waits. The page will say so.
24. Day 03 Preview
Day 03 is Loose Pieces. The route is reserved. The lesson body is not published.