Pin (chess) Pin (chess) In chess, a pin is a situation brought on by an attacking piece in which a defending piece cannot move without exposing a more valuable defending piece on its other side to capture by the attacking piece. Moving the attacking piece to bring on the pin is called pinning; the defending piece so restricted is described as pinned. Only pieces that can move an indefinite number of squares in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line (i.e. bishops, rooks, and queens) can pin. Kings, knights, and pawns cannot pin. Any piece can be pinned except the king, since the
The Morals of Chess chess to life and writes that foresight, circumspection and caution can be learnt from the game. After describing the effects chess can have on one's perception of life he describes a set of moral rules that a chess player should hold, including to not cheat and not disturb the opponent. Franklin suggests that the opponent be told about mistakes he makes, for example if he would lose a piece. The essay is one of the first texts about chess that was published in the United States; it appeared in the first chess-related book that was published in Russia in 1791.