Chess Tactics Guide : Chess Windmill Attack

Chess Windmill Attack
Chess Windmill Attack

In Chess, what is known as a See-saw, but more commonly a Windmill Attack, is a tactic very rarely seen in games – be they casual or competitive matches.

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As a result, it’s not surprising that most people haven’t heard of Windmills, in relation to Chess.

Chess Tactics Teaser - Windmill Attack

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How it works:

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    Watch the rooms
  5. 5
    No Ads, Clean Play Room

This tactic gets its name due to the key feature, whereby the attacker performs a rotating series of “Checks” and Captures – the consistency of which is like the rotation of the blades/sails of a Windmill.

In this guide, you’ll find four examples, featuring Windmill Attacks; two of them are mock-ups, the likes of which you’ll probably NEVER see in a real game …

However, the other two examples are the exact moves from TWO REAL GAMES:

Example 2, a Chess Windmill Attack is featured during a game held in Moscow, in 1925, between Carlos Torre & Emmanual Lasker.

Example 4, a Chess Windmill Attack is featured during a game held in New York, in 1956, between Donald Byrne & Bobby Fischer*, in what has been dubbed The Game of the Century.

Chess Windmill Attack

Four examples of the Windmill tactic being used …

1. Windmill Attack, Example 1

Windmill Attack, Teaser, Example 1.

Theoretical Example.

White’s light-Bishop (Bd5) performs a series of Discovered Checks against Black’s King, on the Queenside, while the Rook (Rb7) goes back and forth capturing enemy material and checking the enemy King to get it back into position for subsequent Discovered Checks, as the process repeats.

2. Windmill Attack, Example 2

Windmill Attack, Teaser, Example 2.

Real Game Example.
Torre-Em.Lasker, Moscow, 1925.

White’s dark-Bishop (Bf6) performs the Discovered Checks to keep Black’s King on the move, while White’s Rook (Rg7) makes the captures, chipping in with checks
to reposition Black’s King, ready for the next Discovered Check, as the Windmill continues.

3. Windmill Attack, Example 3

Windmill Attack, Teaser, Example 3.

Theoretical Example

An extremely theoretical example, with no prospect of seeing it in an actual game. However, it’s a great example to reinforce what makes a Windmill Attack possible:

A series of Discovered Checks; a Bishop and another Piece working in tandem; vulnerable Pawns and Pieces unable to defend themselves.

4. Windmill Attack, Example 4

Windmill Attack, Teaser, Example 4.

Real Game Example
Byrne-Fischer, The Game of the Century, New York, 1956.

The attacking Black Knight only manages to capture one Pawn, but it’s the way the Windmill Attack enables the raid, which should be the focal point. Without it, Black’s Knight couldn’t get onto e2, let alone capture on d4 (see Rd1, Kf1 & Nf3).

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