Hidden Tactics and Pattern Recognition

Our brains love patterns and chess is full of them. From opening principles to tactical motifs, we’re constantly scanning the board for familiar shapes and sequences. When looking for winning tactics we’re wired to look for the obvious. Captures, checks and threats.
This article focuses on the less obvious silent moves that win the game. These are the moves we often overlook because they don’t scream for attention, because we don’t allow ourselves to see the reason for playing them. I’m talking about the hidden move—they are right there on the board, but they are typically blind spots in our calculations.
Take the following example: It looks like black is in trouble. He is already down material, f5 is vulnerable and white will convert the win if Black doesn’t do anything drastic.

Example 1: Black to move and win. Can you spot it?

Well done if you found the move, but it definitely isn’t the most obvious move on the board.

Why Are These Moves So Hard to Spot?
Rd2 is a “hidden” move because it simply does not seem possible to play when scanning the board, and this all comes down to how we process the game. At first glance, Rd2 looks ridiculous. There’s no capture and no check and furthermore Rd2 occurs on an empty square, making it even less obvious. It’s as if our brains immediately disregarded this move, so we won’t even bother to calculate the variation. Just like how our brain won’t stop to consider a silly move like Rd6 in above position, our brains will lump Rd2 into the same category as a move like Rd6—moves that don’t make any sense and does not get on our radar. Therefore the hidden move slips by unnoticed.

But once we allow ourselves to see the move, the threat is obvious and very forcing, Rd2 simply is a crushing checkmate threat and it cannot be taken. Black wins. I noticed something very interesting on how we process the game when I was assessing this position with my students. By just make a very subtle change in the position, I’ve given white a knight on d2 (an entire extra piece for white!):

Same question as before: Black to move and win.

The addition of the knight changes everything. My students found the move straight away. Suddenly Rxd2 is just screaming at us! How big an impact this otherwise pointless difference makes! So here’s the thing: The point of Rd2 isn’t about winning a piece—it’s about executing a mating threat and distracting Whites rook coordination on the empty d2-square. And that’s exactly why it’s hard to find. Chess is about pieces and squares, and the empty squares we often neglect.
With a white Knight on d2, Rxd2 now has an immediate effect; we immediately win a piece unless white recaptures. Only then do we register is not possible for white, but only because in we now allowed our brains to calculate the consequences on whites reply Rxd2.
Now that we’ve seen the pattern, we have it on our radar, and oddly enough the motif becomes more easy to find. Please have a go at the next example. In my opinion this example is objectively harder than the first one:

Example 2: Black to move and win:

But here’s where it gets interesting: My students found the solution much faster, and I bet you did too. Why? This is exactly how pattern recognition works. Because now we know of the pattern, our brain is primed to scan for these kinds of moves. And suddenly, what was once hidden becomes visible, and these quiet, deadly moves on empty squares are no longer off your radar.
To drive home the point, I have one more example, from my own game and this time from a different angle:

Example 3. White to move and win:

Different angle, same pattern. Re7 is another one of those moves we normally wouldn’t look for, but it simply wins a piece if you allow yourself to look the hidden threats on the empty squares. Well done if you managed to solve all of these, and I hope you’ve added a new type of move to your chess arsenal and chess creativity by these examples.
Chess isn’t just about pieces—it’s about the squares too. As we’ve seen, these moves may feel counterintuitive at first but this is where the hidden moves often lurk. Once you start scanning for these patterns and ask yourself “What’s hiding in the empty squares?” you’ll uncover opportunities that others missed, and there will be plenty of points be be gained.

If you enjoyed this article and want to explore similar topics, check out my blog at chessinprogress.com. I share weekly articles covering all aspects of chess improvement. My ultimate goal is to write 100 of these bite-sized articles and turn them my very own collection of chess lessons.