Trapped figure

A potentially trapped figure is a bishop, knight, rook, or queen on the opponent’s half (or the reverse, when you scan the opponent) with zero or one safe way out: an empty square, an undefended capture that is not recapturable, or a capture of equal or stronger material.

The signal

Orient the board with the side to move at the bottom. Mark every such piece on the relevant half of the board. If none qualify, submit empty. Completeness again: one trapped knight is not an excuse to ignore a trapped rook.

Why it is easy to miss in a game

The piece still has legal squares — they are just all covered. You assume “it can move.” Puzzles called “trap the queen” start after the net is obvious. The habit is seeing the net while the piece still looks developed.

What WayChess trains

You mark trapped (or potentially trapped) pieces for you and for the opponent, including a stricter level-2 variant. Feedback checks the exact set. Related: advanced pawn and walking into an attack.

See all habits.