Stop Hanging Pieces: Count Attackers and Defenders

If your opponent's best reply just takes something, this is the habit to build.

When the review says the best reply to your move wins a piece or a pawn, the cause is almost always the same: something was attacked more times than it was defended, or it was not defended at all. These are called hanging pieces, and they are the single biggest leak in most players' games.

The habit: count before you move

For the piece you are about to move, and for every piece it was protecting, count two numbers: how many enemy pieces attack the square, and how many of yours defend it.

• More attackers than defenders: the piece can be won. Defend it, move it, or make sure you win something bigger first.
• Equal numbers: usually safe, but check the values. A pawn defending a knight against a rook attack is fine; a queen defending a pawn against a pawn attack is not.
• Zero defenders: never leave a piece there unless you have checked that nothing can reach it.

Position: White to move. Black's pawn on e5 is attacked by the knight and defended by nothing: Nxe5 simply wins it.

Watch the piece you just moved away

Many hanging pieces are not the piece that moved. They are the piece it used to protect. Before you move a defender, look at what it was guarding. If you are not sure, the safest habit is to ask: after my move, what can my opponent take?

Practice

• In your next game, say the counts out loud (or in your head) for every capture on the board.
• In the review, use The danger view on each mistake: the orange arrow shows the capture you missed.
• Try the daily puzzle: many of them start from a piece left undefended.

"Loose pieces drop off."

— John Nunn