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How to Set Up a Windmill Attack for Chess

The windmill attack is a series of moves in which a player is able to inflict great damage on his opponent through putting him in check, then discovered check, followed by another check. It requires at least two pieces to work. The king is forced to move back and forth between two vulnerable positions, allowing the offensive player to inflict loss after loss. There is no sure fire way to set up a windmill attack, or it would occur more frequently; it is a very rare event in tournament chess. There are some key elements, however, that must be present. A 13-year-old Bobby Fischer used it--along with a stunning queen sacrifice--in 1956 to defeat Donald Byrne, who was twice his age, in what was later dubbed the "Game of the Century."

Things You'll Need

A chess set
An opponent

Instructions

Discovered Check
- 1
  
  Bobby Fischer was not much older than this lad when he defeated 26-year-old Donald Byrne using a windmill attack.
  
  Windmill attacks often start with a series of forced moves, pushing the king into a position from which he can move to one square only, and on which he is vulnerable to a discovered check. Discovered check happens when one piece, called the masking piece, is blocking the attack by a second piece, called the masked piece, of the same color on the opponent&'s king. If a knight is on a square next to a king blocking a bishop that could threaten the king, and the knight is moved, presto! Discovered check. If the masking piece is in a position to take another piece, this makes the discovered check all the more powerful.
- 2
  
  Keys to the windmill: the masking piece must attack and the king must be forced to return to its original square.
  
  The power of a discovered check lies in the fact that the offensive player has many options for the masking piece. For example, it can be used to take material (the defender&'s pieces) that would normally be protected because the defending player is forced to move the king or block. She can&'t use the move to take the masking piece, but must deal with the check.
- 3
  
  In the windmill attack, two pieces combine to force the king to repeat moves while one of the pieces goes on a rampage.
  
  After forcing the king to move and doing some damage, the masking piece moves back to the same square from which it originally blocked the attack. The masking piece must also attack the king again. For example, if the white king were on f1 next to a white rook on e1, and behind white pawns on g2 and h2, a knight is on f2 blocking an attacking black bishop on e3. If the knight is moved, the king comes under attack and must move to h1 (see Resources 2 for explanation of chess board numbering).
- 4
  
  A windmill attack doesn&'t guarantee checkmate, but it can get you closer.
  
  The final step is to move the masking piece back to the original square from which it began the attack. This forces the opposing player&'s king back to it&'s original square, and the entire sequence can repeat, with the masking piece again wreaking as much havoc as it wants.

Chess & Checkers