---
title: "Deflection and decoy: chess lesson · Chess Goat"
description: "Drag a defender away from its job, or lure a piece onto a bad square. 11-minute lesson with puzzles at your level."
canonical: "https://trychessgoat.com/learn/lesson/deflection-decoy/"
last_updated: 2026-10-09
---

Level 2 · Win material on purpose · 800–1100 · 11 min

# Deflection and decoy

Drag a defender away from its job, or lure a piece onto a bad square.

## The rule to take into your games

**Find the enemy piece with a job, then give it a reason to leave; or find the square you want their piece on, then force it there.**

Part of Goat Pass: 4 steps on the board, 3 guided examples, then puzzles at your level, and the ones you miss come back until they stick. The first 3 lessons are free.

[Open this lesson →](https://trychessgoat.com/learn/#/lesson/deflection-decoy)

Not sure this is your leak? Your free [Goat Card](https://trychessgoat.com/u/) reads your chess.com games and puts the lessons that fix your biggest mistakes first. Next lesson: [Mate in two: forcing moves first](https://trychessgoat.com/learn/lesson/mate-in-two/).