Enfilade (chess)

Chess board showing alfil using the sharpening tactic

In chess, a enfilada (skewer or thrust, in English) is a tactical motive that consists of the attack on two pieces in line, is similar to a dunk. In fact, a run is sometimes described as a reverse dunk; the difference is that in an enfilade, the higher value piece is ahead of the lower value piece. The adversary sees the need to move the piece of greater value to avoid its capture, thus exposing his piece of lesser value to being captured. The queen, the rook and the bishop can perform this tactic.

In the diagram on the left it is Black's turn to move and the queen suffers from an enfilade by White's bishop. Black must move the queen and on the next move, White will capture the rook.

In the diagram on the right it is White's turn to move and the king suffers from an enfilade by the black bishop. This is a file that the rules of chess require to avoid check, and in this case there is no other possibility than to necessarily move the king. After White moves his king, Black will surely capture White's queen.

Because the enfilade is a direct attack on the highest value piece, it is generally a much more powerful tactic than the pin tactic. The victim of the enfilade often cannot avoid losing material (it may be possible, for example, that the higher-value piece could be moved in check); the only question is what material should be lost.