Teacher / Parent Answer Key
This separate key keeps answers, solution moves, and explanations completely out of the student-facing printable packet.
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Teacher/parent key for Worksheet: Hanging Pieces and Piece Values.
Prompt: Write the point value of the pawn, knight, bishop, rook, and queen.
Pawn = 1, Knight = 3, Bishop = 3, Rook = 5, Queen = 9.
Prompt: In the mini-game position, circle any piece that looks undefended.
A piece is hanging if no friendly piece can recapture on its square.
Prompt: Solve the 5 hanging-piece puzzles from this lesson and write the winning move for each.
See practice positions above for each puzzle's solution move.
White to move. Black just left a piece undefended — find the free capture.
Solution: Qxd5+
Black's knight on d5 has no defender and no black piece can reach d5 to recapture. Qxd5+ wins the knight for free (and comes with check, since the black king is far away on a8).
White to move. Spot the undefended piece and win it.
Solution: Nxf5
Black's rook on f5 is not protected by anything. The knight on d4 can jump straight to f5 and capture it for free — no black piece can recapture on f5.
White to move. Which black piece is hanging?
Solution: Rxe6
The bishop on e6 sits on the same open file as the white rook, and nothing defends it. Rxe6 wins the bishop with no recapture available.
White to move. Look for a free piece along the diagonals.
Solution: Bxg6
The bishop on c2 has a clear diagonal all the way to g6, where Black's knight sits undefended. Bxg6 wins the knight for free.
White to move. Black's most valuable piece is undefended — take it!
Solution: Rxd8+
Even the strongest piece on the board can hang. Black's queen on d8 has no defender, so Rxd8+ captures it for free — always scan for the biggest hanging piece first.
Teacher/parent key for Worksheet: Checks, Captures, and Threats.
Prompt: Write the definitions of check, capture, and threat in your own words.
Check: attacks the king. Capture: takes an enemy piece. Threat: attacks a piece or square without capturing yet.
Prompt: In the mini-game position, name one square a threatening move could target.
Answers will vary - accept any reasonable undefended target.
Prompt: Solve the three CCT practice positions and label each one check, capture, or threat.
Position 1: check (Re4+). Position 2: capture (Qxa5). Position 3: threat (Ra1).
Find the move that gives check.
Solution: Re4+
Moving the rook onto the e-file lines it up with the black king with nothing in between - that is a check.
Find the safe capture.
Solution: Qxa5
The knight on a5 has no defender, so the queen can capture it for free - a clean capture.
This move does not check or capture anything, but it still forces a response. Find the threatening move.
Solution: Ra1
Moving the rook to the open a-file attacks the undefended black queen. Black must move the queen or lose it next turn - that is a threat.
Teacher/parent key for Worksheet: Forks.
Prompt: Draw a knight on d5 and mark every square it attacks.
A knight on d5 attacks b4, b6, c3, c7, e3, e7, f4, and f6.
Prompt: In the mini-game position, is there a knight move that attacks two black pieces? If not yet, which move gets closer?
Answers will vary based on the position reached.
Prompt: Solve the 4 fork puzzles and write the forking move for each.
See practice positions above for each puzzle's solution move.
White to move. Find the knight move that attacks two pieces at once.
Solution: Nf6+
Nf6+ checks the king on e8 and simultaneously attacks the rook on g8 — a knight fork. Black must deal with the check first, and next move White captures the rook.
White to move. One knight move attacks both black rooks — find it.
Solution: Nb6
Nb6 attacks both the rook on a8 and the rook on c8 at the same time. Black can only save one of them, so White wins a rook next move.
White to move. This is the biggest kind of fork — find it.
Solution: Ne6+
Ne6+ is a "family fork": it checks the king on f8 and attacks the queen on d8 at the same time. The king must move out of check, and then White plays Nxd8 to win the queen.
White to move. Find the square where the knight attacks both bishops.
Solution: Nd6
Nd6 attacks the bishop on b7 and the bishop on f7 at the same time, and the knight itself is safe there. Black can only save one bishop.
Teacher/parent key for Worksheet: Pins.
Prompt: Explain why a pinned piece is often "frozen" even if it looks like it can move.
If the pinned piece moves, it would expose the king to check, which is illegal - or it would lose a bigger piece behind it.
Prompt: In the mini-game position, name a piece that could become pinned.
Answers will vary based on the position reached.
Prompt: Solve the 3 pin puzzles and write down which piece is pinned in each one.
See practice positions above for each puzzle's solution move.
White to move. Black's knight can't legally move — find the way to win it.
Solution: Qxa5+
The knight on a5 is pinned to the king by the white rook on a1 along the a-file — it is not allowed to move at all. The white queen simply captures it along the 5th rank with Qxa5+.
White to move. Black's bishop on f6 is stuck — take it.
Solution: gxf6
The white bishop on b2 pins the black bishop on f6 to the king on h8 along the long diagonal, so the black bishop cannot move away. The pawn on g5 simply captures it with gxf6.
White to move. Black's rook on e8 can't move without exposing the king — capture it.
Solution: Rexe8+
The rook on e8 is pinned along the 8th rank by White's rook on a8 — if it moved, the king on g8 would be in check. The other white rook, on e1, simply captures it along the e-file with check.
Teacher/parent key for Worksheet: Skewers.
Prompt: Explain the difference between a pin and a skewer.
In a pin the less valuable piece is in front; in a skewer the more valuable piece is in front and forced to move.
Prompt: In the mini-game position, is there a piece lined up behind the black king on a file, rank, or diagonal?
Answers will vary based on the position reached.
Prompt: Solve the 3 skewer puzzles and write down the forced reply move for each.
See practice positions above for each puzzle's forced reply and follow-up capture.
White to move. Check the king, then win the piece behind it.
Solution: Ra8+ Ke7 Rxh8
Ra8+ checks the king on the back rank. The pawns on d7 and f7 block every other escape square, so Ke7 is forced. Once the king steps off the 8th rank, the rook captures the queen on h8 — a skewer.
White to move. Check the king, then win the piece behind it.
Solution: Ra8+ Ke7 Rxg8
Ra8+ checks the king along the 8th rank. With d7 and f7 blocked by pawns, Ke7 is the only legal reply. That clears the rank so the rook can capture the rook on g8 next move.
White to move. Check the king, then win the piece behind it.
Solution: Qa8+ Ke7 Qxh8
Qa8+ checks the king along the back rank, and the pawns on d7/f7 leave Ke7 as the only escape. Once the king steps aside, the queen captures the bishop on h8 — the same skewer idea, with a queen instead of a rook.
Teacher/parent key for Worksheet: Discovered Attacks.
Prompt: Explain why a discovered check can be more dangerous than a normal check.
The moving piece is free to do something else (capture, fork, or attack) while the revealed piece delivers check at the same time.
Prompt: In the mini-game position, name a friendly piece that is blocking another one of your pieces.
Answers will vary based on the position reached.
Prompt: Solve the 3 discovered-attack puzzles and write which piece delivered the hidden check each time.
Position 1: rook. Position 2: bishop. Position 3: queen.
The knight is blocking the rook's file. Move the knight so the rook delivers check.
Solution: Nc3+
Once the knight steps off the a-file, the rook on a1 has a clear line straight to the black king on a8 - a discovered check from the rook, not the knight.
The knight is blocking the bishop's diagonal. Move the knight so the bishop delivers check.
Solution: Nd3+
Moving the knight off the a2-h8 diagonal uncovers the bishop's attack on the black king - a discovered check.
The bishop is blocking the queen's diagonal. Move the bishop so the queen delivers check.
Solution: Bc5+
Moving the bishop off the a1-h8 diagonal uncovers the queen's attack on the black king - a discovered check.
Teacher/parent key for Worksheet: King Safety.
Prompt: Write two reasons castling early is a good habit.
Castling connects the rooks and gets the king away from the center where most attacks happen.
Prompt: In the mini-game position, has Black castled yet? What could go wrong if Black waits too long?
Black has not castled yet; waiting risks the center opening up with the king still stuck there.
Prompt: Solve the 3 king-safety practice positions and write what made each king unsafe before the move.
Position 1: king stuck in the center. Position 2: king in check on an open file. Position 3: king could get stuck if development is delayed.
Your king is still in the center. Play the move that gets it to safety on the kingside.
Solution: O-O
Castling kingside tucks the king behind its pawns and connects the rooks - a big improvement in king safety.
Your king is in check. Find the move that gets it to safety.
Solution: Kd2
Stepping off the e-file gets the king out of the rook's line of attack immediately.
Both sides are developed. Play the move that gets your king to safety before starting an attack.
Solution: O-O
With minor pieces developed, castling kingside now is the safest choice - waiting too long can leave the king stuck in the center.
Teacher/parent key for Worksheet: Active Pieces.
Prompt: Name one square a knight controls more squares from than any other square on the board.
d4, d5, e4, or e5 - the four central squares.
Prompt: In the mini-game position, which piece looks the least active right now?
Answers will vary - accept any reasonable piece that has not yet moved or is undeveloped.
Prompt: Solve the 3 active-piece practice positions and write which square each piece moved to and why it is strong.
Position 1: Rd1, open file. Position 2: Nd4, central outpost. Position 3: Bc4, long diagonal.
The d-file has no pawns on it for either side. Move your rook to that open file.
Solution: Rd1
A rook belongs on open files, where nothing blocks it from controlling the whole file - a much more active square than the corner.
Move your knight to a strong, safe square in the center.
Solution: Nd4
Central squares like d4 give a knight the most possible squares to jump to next - far more active than the rim of the board.
Move your bishop onto the long diagonal aimed at the enemy king's side of the board.
Solution: Bc4
Placing the bishop on the long diagonal gives it its longest possible reach across the board.