Absolute & Relative Pins

A pin is a line relationship. In an absolute pin, moving the pinned piece would expose the king to check, so the move is illegal. In a relative pin, the piece may move legally, but doing so loses something valuable behind it.

Pins matter because they reduce effective defenders and create tactical targets. But a pinned piece may still capture the pinning piece, block the line, or move along the pin line in some cases. Never replace calculation with the phrase 'it's pinned.'

Training flow: 1. Line anatomy drill. 2. Absolute vs relative classification. 3. Legal-move test for pinned pieces. 4. Exploit-the-pin puzzles. 5. Defensive unpinning exercises.

Common errors: Believing all pinned pieces are immobile. Ignoring moves along the pin line. Confusing pin with skewer. Failing to count the value behind the pinned piece.

Mastery gate: 7/8 correct with zero legality errors.

Review: For each pin, name three elements: pinning piece, pinned piece, protected/valuable target.

Duration: 65–80 min