Combination — what it means in chess
A forcing sequence, usually with a sacrifice, that wins an advantage.
A forcing sequence, usually with a sacrifice, that wins an advantage.
A combination is a forced sequence of moves, usually opened by a sacrifice, in which every reply is met and the final position shows a concrete gain — mate, material, or a decisive positional prize. What separates a combination from a mere exchange of blows is the forcing tree: your opponent may have choices, but every branch has been calculated to the same destination.
The most famous combination in chess is the smothered mate, and it makes the point perfectly — a queen sacrifice that looks like madness until you see that both of the king's paths lead to the same knight.
[[board startfen="4r1k1/pp4pp/8/6N1/1Q6/8/PP4PP/6K1 w - - 0 1" pgn="1. Qb3+ Kh8 2. Nf7+ Kg8 3. Nh6+ Kh8 4. Qg8+ Rxg8 5. Nf7 " caption="The smothered-mate combination: every Black reply is met, and both branches end in mate." notes="White to move. Queen on b4, knight on g5, and the Black king short of air. Qb3+ — the check on the long diagonal. If the king goes to f8 instead, Qf7 is mate at once — the other branch of the tree. Kh8 — the king steps into the corner. Nf7+ — the knight arrives with check, forking king and rook for good measure. Kg8 — forced back. Nh6+ — a double check: knight and queen at once. Double check permits no block and no capture. Kh8 — the corner again, the only square. Qg8+ — the queen sacrifice. The rook must take: the king cannot, with the knight guarding g8. Rxg8 — and Black's own rook seals the last exit. Nf7 — smothered mate. Every move was forced from the first check."]]
The Endgame Society glossary defines more than 240 chess terms — rules, notation, tactics, strategy, pawn structures, endgames, and openings — in language a beginner can act on rather than dictionary shorthand.