The Elegant Cross Pin

In chess there are many tactical ideas that are satisfying to pull off, and then there are those that are truly aesthetically pleasing. For me the cross pin falls into the latter category. When the pieces are aligned just right, the cross pin emerges like a work of art, trapping your opponent’s pieces in a perfect geometry that leads to an often game-ending move.

It’s the kind of thing you see often see in chess studies, but pulling one off in a real game is rare. You can’t exactly plan ahead for it, but knowing the motif can definitely help you spot it when the moment comes. I actually managed to land a cross pin in a recent game and I definitely congratulated myself; not on the actual win, but on pulling off the cross pin! But before we dive into my game, let’s break down what a cross pin really looks like. (more puzzles and games below)

Cross-pin Example 1: Rook (rank/file) Cross pin

Cross-pin Example 2: Bishop (diagonal) Cross pin

Cross-pin Example 3: Combined Cross pin

What’s common in these cross pin patterns is that there is an absolute pin against the king in the position. By itself, this pin isn’t immediately problematic for the opponent. However, the magic happens when we create a second relative pin from a different angle. While the opponent cannot break the absolute pin, they can break the relative pin—but only at the cost of significant material. If the opponent ignores the threat, they will inevitably lose the pinned piece due to the increased pressure from the second pin.
The most famous example of cross pin patterns is found in Troitsky’s study from 1895. Its quite famous, but if you haven’t seen it yet, try to solve it as it is a very good calculation and visualisation exercise!

Crosspin Puzzle 1: White to play and win (It does looks tough, but the moves are quite forcing, and remember its all about the crosspins!)

Crosspin Puzzle 2: White to play and win

Crosspins do come about in real game scenarios. With many more pieces on the board sometimes the pattern is not obvious, but look for situations where there is already a pin in the position, and try for create a second pin to the already pinned piece along a different angle. Here, white is temporarily a piece up but his Bishop is pinned to the Rd1, regardless of whether Queens get traded. If black can retake the Bishop, he would be 2 clear pawns ahead.

And now, the real reason I’ve been going on about this—I landed my very own cross pin game. The theme occurs on move 32 shown in diagram below, but you can play through the entire game below too (the opening is not very well played by either side though!)

..Black is down a clean exchange but more importantly he is completely tied down and can hardly move. Rc1-e1-e3 is unstoppable. Black resigned.

Indeed it is a very satisfying move to pull off. Never mind the fact I lost that match 1-3, the cross pin is worth 5 points. My motto? It’s better to cross pin than to win. Next time you’ve set up an innocent pin, take a moment to look for a second pin on the already pinned piece along a different diagonal/file—a cross pin might be lurking just around the corner. It might just be the most beautiful move you will make.

If you enjoyed this article and want to dive deeper into similar topics, check out my blog at chessinprogress.com for adult improvers. From daring sacrifices to nuanced positional play, each article provides insights into a different aspect 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.