What is the situational pin chess tactic?
A Situational Pin is a chess tactic that involves pinning a piece to a piece that is more valuable or to the king. The idea behind this tactic is to immobilize the opponent’s piece and to prevent it from moving, while also creating threats against the pinned piece or the king.
A pin is a tactical motif in which a piece is pinned to a piece of greater value or to the king by an opposing piece. A pin can be absolute or relative. An absolute pin is one where the piece is pinned to the king and cannot move without putting the king in check. A relative pin is one where the piece is pinned to a piece of greater value and cannot move without exposing that piece to capture.
Situational pins can occur in many different ways, depending on the position of the pieces on the board. For example, a piece can be pinned to the king by an opposing rook, a piece can be pinned to a queen by an opposing bishop, or a piece can be pinned to a rook by an opposing queen.
Situational pins can be very powerful in the endgame, because they can create threats against the king or against a piece that is more valuable. For example, a pawn that is pinned to the king can be used to create a passed pawn or to force the opponent’s king into a mating net.