Deflection in chess
Stockfish 16.1 · runs in your browserPlay Bd2. White offers the bishop on d2. If Black chooses Rxd2, Re8# follows.
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Best move
Deflection lures a piece away from a defensive job. Here White offers a bishop to the rook guarding the back rank. If Black accepts with Rxd2, White has Re8#. A sacrifice need not be accepted: inspect the other legal replies too.
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Rules and examples
The board positions are original teaching examples. Rule references and further practice are linked below.
Rules: FIDE Laws of Chess, effective 1 January 2023. https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/E012023
Rule replay: python-chess 1.11.2 (GPL-3.0-or-later). The shared browser engine retains its Stockfish GPL-3.0 notice. No engine score is claimed by these demonstrations.
See the referenceA move on the board
3r2k1/5ppp/8/8/1B6/8/8/K3R3 w - - 0 1
3r2k1/5ppp/8/8/8/8/3B4/K3R3 b - - 1 1
- Bd2White offers the bishop on d2. If Black chooses Rxd2, Re8# follows.
White offers the bishop on d2. If Black chooses Rxd2, Re8# follows.
Original teaching example replayed with python-chess 1.11.2, 2026-10-18.
Analysis runs on Stockfish 16.1 in your browser, compiled to WebAssembly by stockfish.js. Stockfish is free software under the GNU General Public License v3; its source code is on GitHub.