Piece domination
Piece domination is a position in which an enemy piece cannot move without being captured, because your pieces control every square it could go to, so it is stuck and out of play.
Also called: knight domination
Domination means restricting one enemy piece so completely that every square it can reach is covered. The piece may not be attacked right now, but it cannot move without being lost, so it is out of the game until the grip is broken. The classic cases involve a knight dominating a bishop or a rook, because a knight covers squares of both colors, while a bishop can never attack a knight that stands on the other color.
To spot it, list the squares the enemy piece can move to and count how many are safe. If the answer is zero or close to it, domination is on the board. In the example, Black's own pawn on b6 blocks one diagonal, and each of the bishop's four moves along the other lands on a square covered by the white knight or the white king.
Domination is valuable because it works like a material gain without a capture. A dominated piece can neither attack nor defend, so the side doing the dominating effectively plays with an extra piece. The usual next step is to bring a second unit, such as the king or a pawn, to attack the trapped piece, since it has nowhere to run.
A common mistake is to assume a piece is safe because nothing attacks it. Another is to let your own piece drift to the edge of the board, where a single well-placed knight can take away all of its exits. Before moving a piece to a rim square, check that it keeps a safe way back.
Also worth reading is Pawn breakthrough. A pawn breakthrough is a sacrifice of one or more pawns that tears open the opposing pawn chain so that a remaining pawn can run through and promote.
A neighboring idea is Piece coordination. Piece coordination is the degree to which your pieces support one another and work toward the same target, so their combined force is greater than the sum of what each could do alone.
A neighboring idea is Wrong rook pawn. A wrong rook pawn is an a-pawn or h-pawn whose promotion square is the opposite color to its side's bishop, so king, bishop and pawn cannot win once the defending king reaches the corner in front of it.
Endgame ideas like "Piece domination" are won or lost on small details, which a coach can check in your own games. The first lesson with George Li is where that review starts.
Related terms
Domination is a plan in which your pieces and pawns watch every exit of one enemy piece, so that it can neither move safely nor contribute, and it may even be lost.
A trapped piece cannot reach safety: every square it might retreat to is covered, blocked or ruinous, so once it is attacked the owner will lose it for little or nothing.
Restriction is a strategic technique of limiting the opponent's useful moves, pawn breaks and piece routes so their position has few constructive options, often by controlling key squares rather than winning material.
Knight versus bishop describes positions where one side has a knight and the other a bishop; the better piece depends on the pawn structure, favoring the bishop in open play and the knight in closed positions.
An outpost is an advanced square, usually in the opponent's half of the board, that is protected by one of your own pawns and cannot be attacked by an enemy pawn.
Guides that go further
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?
Published rates for private, group and subscription chess coaching, with the source and the date of each.
A game review, a read on your level and a written study plan from George Li.
Want to spot this in your own games?
A first lesson starts with your games: George reviews them and builds a study plan around what he finds.