Week 8: Free pieces
12-week course · lesson plan for a 60-minute live group class · for the coach
Lesson plan · Worksheet · Large print · Answer key · 12-week syllabus
Learning objective
Students check before every move: can I take something for free, and is anything of mine left undefended?
Before class (under 10 minutes)
Prerequisites: Weeks 1–7.
- Open "Week 8 demonstration".
- Have "Week 8 practice" ready in the Puzzles list.
Class plan, minute by minute
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 0–5 min | Warm-up Ask: “What do you look at before every move?” Collect answers with cards. |
| 5–20 min | Shared board: free or not? Load "Week 8 demonstration": count attackers and defenders. A piece is free when you can take it and nothing takes back. |
| 20–35 min | Puzzles on their own boards Puzzles → "Week 8 practice". Mixed-level group: "Week 8 all levels". |
| 35–52 min | Play each other Pair students and start. Rule for today: before each move, say (or think) “Is anything free?” |
| 52–60 min | Review Review questions below. Preview: next week, discovered attacks. |
Shared-board demonstration
In the lesson app: Lesson library → Week 8 demonstration: Free pieces.
White to move: which capture is free?
Point at each target and ask: “Who protects it?”
Answer: Nxf5 wins the bishop for nothing; Nxb5 would be taken back by the a6 pawn.
Free or not? The black queen on d4 is attacked by the rook and protected by nobody.
Rxd4 wins the queen. Then ask: after your move, is anything of YOURS free?
Puzzles on every student’s own board
In class: Puzzles → choose the set → Start puzzles. Each student solves on their own board while you watch every board live. A wrong move gets a reason or a hint (for example “look for a check”), and any checkmate counts as solved.
- Everyone: Week 8 practice: Free pieces (6 puzzles, including real-game puzzles from Lichess). The worksheet uses the same puzzles.
- Mixed-level group: Week 8 all levels: Free pieces (13 puzzles): the 3 easier ones first, then the practice set, then 4 harder ones, including real-game puzzles from Lichess. Each student goes at their own pace, so beginners stay with the easier puzzles while stronger students reach the harder ones.
- A whole group that needs more support: Week 8 easier: Free pieces. A whole group ready for more: Week 8 harder: Free pieces.
Check for understanding
- When is a piece “free”? Answer: When you can take it and nothing can take back.
- What two questions do you ask before every move? Answer: Can I take something for free? Is anything of mine left undefended?
- A rook takes a knight that a pawn protects. Is that good? Answer: Usually not: you give a rook (5) for a knight (3).
Help for beginners
Count out loud: “attacked by 1, protected by 0: free.” Let students touch-point each attacker and defender on the shared board.
For stronger students
"Week 8 harder": real-game free pieces from Lichess, some hidden behind a check.
Every position, answer and hint on this page is checked move by move with chess.js before it is published. Real-game puzzles come from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).