Relative Pin
A pin where moving the pinned piece is legal but costly, exposing a valuable piece behind it.
Published 2026-02-01 | Last verified 2026-02-12
Professor Archer says: I find the relative pin fascinating because it introduces an element of choice that the absolute pin does not have. With an absolute pin, the piece is frozen. With a relative pin, your opponent can break free — at a price. And here lies the beautiful tension of chess: sometimes paying that price is the right decision. I have seen grandmasters sacrifice their queen to break a relative pin and deliver a stunning checkmate. Chess is full of exceptions, and the relative pin teaches us that even strong restrictions can be overruled by stronger ideas.
Understanding the Relative Pin
A relative pin is a pin where the piece behind the pinned piece is valuable but not the king. The most common example is a bishop pinning a knight against the queen. The knight can legally move, but doing so would lose the queen — a devastating trade that usually costs the game.
The term "relative" is used because the strength of the pin depends on the relative values of the pieces involved. A knight pinned against a queen is under enormous pressure, because losing a queen for a bishop is a catastrophic material deficit. But a knight pinned against a rook is under less pressure, because the material difference between a bishop and a rook (about two points) is smaller.
This value calculation is what makes relative pins more nuanced than absolute pins. With an absolute pin, there is nothing to calculate — the piece cannot move, period. With a relative pin, both sides must evaluate: is the cost of breaking the pin worth the benefit? Most of the time, the answer is no, and the pinned piece remains stuck. But occasionally, a brilliant combination justifies the sacrifice.
Relative pins are most effective when the pinned piece is significantly less valuable than the piece behind it. The classic case is a minor piece (bishop or knight) pinned against the queen, creating a value gap of approximately six points — more than enough to make the pin binding in practical terms.
A Common Relative Pin Pattern
One of the most frequently occurring relative pins in chess appears after the opening moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5. In many variations, White's dark-squared bishop might develop to g5, pinning the knight on f6 against the queen on d8.
In the position shown, this exact pattern is illustrated. The bishop on g5 eyes the knight on f6, and behind the knight sits the queen on d8. The knight is relatively pinned. Black can legally move the knight, but doing so exposes the queen to capture by the bishop.
This pin has several practical consequences. First, the knight on f6 can no longer participate in the defense or attack as flexibly as before. It is tied to its square, which means Black has effectively lost the use of one piece. Second, White can pile up pressure on the pinned knight — perhaps with a pawn advance to h4-h5, or by adding another attacker like Nd5.
Black can break this pin in several ways: playing Be7 to block the diagonal, playing h6 to challenge the bishop (though this creates a potential weakness), or castling to get the king to safety and the queen off the back rank. Each response has its advantages and risks, and choosing the right one is part of the art of chess.
The key lesson is that even though the knight can move, the cost of doing so (losing the queen) makes it effectively frozen in most situations.
The classic Bg5 pin: the knight on f6 is pinned against the queen on d8.
When to Break a Relative Pin
One of the most instructive aspects of the relative pin is knowing when breaking it is correct. While most of the time the pinned piece should stay put, there are specific situations where moving it — and accepting the material loss — is the winning decision.
The most common reason to break a relative pin is a mating attack. If moving the pinned piece opens a devastating attack on the enemy king, losing the queen behind it may be acceptable. Sacrificing the queen to deliver checkmate is always a worthwhile trade. Many famous combinations in chess history involve breaking a pin with a spectacular sacrifice.
Another reason is a counterattack that wins back more material. Suppose your knight is pinned against your queen, but moving the knight delivers a fork that wins a rook and a bishop. You lose the queen (nine points) but gain a rook and bishop (eight points) plus the tactical advantage — this could be a favorable trade in the right position.
A third scenario involves breaking the pin to gain a tempo for a critical defensive move. If your position is collapsing and the only way to survive involves moving the pinned piece, the material cost may be justified by saving the game.
The takeaway is that relative pins demand ongoing calculation from both sides. The pinning player should not assume the pin is permanent, and the defending player should always be alert for opportunities to break free.
Relative Pins in Opening Theory
Relative pins are so common in the opening that entire opening systems are built around them. Understanding these patterns gives you a significant advantage in the first phase of the game.
The most famous relative pin in opening theory appears in the Ruy Lopez (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5). While the bishop on b5 pins the knight on c6 against the king (making it absolute), many similar positions feature relative pins against the queen instead. In the Italian Game and the Scotch Game, bishop pins against the queen are recurring themes.
The Queen's Gambit Declined also features important relative pins. After 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5, the bishop pins the knight on f6 against the queen. This pin is the foundation of many strategic plans for White, and Black must choose carefully how to handle it.
In the Nimzo-Indian Defense, Black creates a relative pin of sorts by playing Bb4, pinning the knight on c3 against the queen on d1. This is one of the most sophisticated opening systems in chess, showing how a single pin can shape the entire strategic direction of a game.
Learning these opening pin patterns helps you make better decisions in the critical early moves. When you see a pin in the opening, ask yourself: what is the long-term plan here? How can I exploit the restriction, or how should I neutralize it?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a relative pin in chess?
A relative pin is a pin where a piece is attacked and should not move because a more valuable piece (other than the king) stands behind it on the same line. Unlike an absolute pin, the pinned piece can legally move, but doing so would lose the valuable piece behind it.
How do you handle a relative pin in a game?
You can break a relative pin by moving the valuable piece behind the pinned piece to safety, blocking the pinning line with another piece, capturing the pinning piece, or in rare cases, moving the pinned piece if doing so creates a bigger threat such as checkmate.
Professor Archer says: My practical advice on relative pins: never assume your opponent will keep the piece pinned. Always calculate what happens if they break the pin. Sometimes the discovered attack that follows the pin break is more dangerous than you expect. The relative pin is a guideline, not a cage.
Quick Quiz
In a relative pin, a knight is pinned against the queen by a bishop. What is true about this position?
- The knight is legally prohibited from moving - In a relative pin, the knight can legally move. It is only in an absolute pin (against the king) that movement is prohibited by the rules.
- The knight can legally move, but moving it would lose the queen (Correct) - Correct. In a relative pin, the pinned piece can move, but doing so exposes the more valuable piece behind it. Moving the knight would allow the bishop to capture the queen.
- The bishop must maintain the pin and cannot move away - The pinning bishop can move at any time. The pin exists as long as the bishop maintains its position on the line between the knight and queen.
- The queen behind the knight must also remain stationary - The queen can freely move to break the pin. In fact, moving the queen off the pinning line is one of the best ways to resolve a relative pin.