---
title: "Desperado piece in chess"
url: "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/desperado-piece.md"
canonical_url: "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/desperado-piece"
last_updated: "2026-11-07"
type: "reference"
summary: "A desperado is a doomed piece that cashes in before it dies. When a piece cannot be saved, the question changes."
related: ["https://georgelichess.com/glossary/deflection.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/combination.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/double-attack.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/fork.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/category/tactics.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md"]
---

# Desperado piece in chess

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A desperado is a doomed piece that cashes in before it dies. When a piece cannot be saved, the question changes.

A desperado is a doomed piece that cashes in before it dies: it captures or gives check, taking the most it can from the position instead of being lost for nothing.

When a piece cannot be saved, the question changes. Instead of asking how to save it, you ask what is the most it can win before it goes. That is the desperado idea: the doomed piece [captures](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/capture.md) something, gives check, or forces a trade, and turns a total loss into a partial one.

There are two common settings. In the first, a piece is trapped or attacked by something cheaper and has no escape, so it takes a pawn or a piece on its way out. In the second, both sides have pieces hanging at the same moment; the side to move should take first and take the best thing, because the captured piece might otherwise have captured too.

Practical advice: before giving a piece up for nothing, list every capture and check it has, including those that look protected. A single pawn grabbed with check can decide an [endgame](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/endgame.md). And when your opponent's piece looks doomed, do not relax: count its last captures before you conclude you are winning it for free.

To keep the idea honest, compare each option with simply losing the piece, and make sure it really is trapped before deciding to sell it.

In the diagram White's [bishop](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/bishop.md) on a7 is attacked by the rook on a8 and has no safe retreat, since b8 is covered by both rook and king. Bxb6+ takes a pawn with check. If Black captures with Kxb6, White has still turned a lost piece into a pawn.

Also called: desperado.

## Example position

White to move plays the desperado Bxb6+. The bishop on a7 cannot escape the rook, so it takes the pawn on b6 with check, and after Kxb6 White has at least a pawn for it instead of nothing.

Position (FEN): `r7/B1k5/1p6/8/8/8/5PPP/6K1 w - - 0 1`

To see how often "Desperado piece" or a pattern like it decides your own games, book a [first lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book/first-lesson.md): George Li reviews your games and writes a study plan around what he finds.

## Related terms

- [Deflection](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/deflection.md)
- [Combination](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/combination.md)
- [Double attack](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/double-attack.md)
- [Fork](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/fork.md)

## Guides that go further

- [How to choose a chess coach](https://georgelichess.com/how-to-choose-a-chess-coach.md): What to decide first, the questions to ask, what a first lesson should show and the red flags to avoid.
- [How much does chess coaching cost?](https://georgelichess.com/chess-coaching-cost.md): Published rates for private, group and subscription chess coaching, with the source and the date of each.
- [The first lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book/first-lesson.md): A game review, a read on your level and a written study plan from George Li.

[Book your first lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book.md) and George Li reviews your games and builds a study plan around them. Questions about lessons: write to hello@georgelichess.com.

## Related

- [Deflection in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/deflection.md)
- [Combination in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/combination.md)
- [Double attack in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/double-attack.md)
- [Fork in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/fork.md)
- [Chess terms: Tactics and combinations](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/category/tactics.md)
- [Chess terms glossary: plain definitions](https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md)