Combination

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A Combination is a sequence of moves which uses tactical means and exploits specific peculiarities of the position to achieve a certain goal. Combinatorial motives may include tactics like pins, discovered checks and attacks, double attacks, forks and so on. It often starts with a sacrifice or decoy, and leaves the opponent very few forced options to reply.

The search routine of a chess program may take some plies to recognize an initial sacrifice pays off, to distinguish it from a blunder. Extensions are designed to recognize successful combinations earlier, often triggered by forced and often singular replies from the defending side. A so called Petite combination involves only a few moves.

=See also=
 * Danny Kopec - How to ... Video
 * Decoying
 * Deflection
 * KnockOut
 * Sacrifice
 * Zwischenzug

=Publications=
 * Jacques Pitrat (1976). Realization of a Program Learning to Find Combinations at Chess. Computer Oriented Learning Processes (ed. J. Simon). Noordhoff, Groningen, The Netherlands.
 * Jacques Pitrat (1979). A Program which Uses Plans for Finding Combinations in Chess. ICCA Newsletter, Vol. 2 No. 2
 * Jacques Pitrat (1980). The Behaviour of a Chess Combination Program using Plans. Advances in Computer Chess 2
 * Kevin Coplan (1982). A Special-Purpose Machine for an Improved Search Algorithm for Deep Chess Combinations. Advances in Computer Chess 3
 * Eric Schiller (1995). Big Book of Combinations. Hypermodern Press
 * Eric Schiller, Raymond Keene, Leonid Shamkovich (2003). Killer Chess Tactics : World Champion Tactics and Combinations. Cardoza
 * Azlan Iqbal (2010). Aesthetics in Mate-In-3 Combinations, Part I Combinatorics and Weights. ICGA Journal, Vol. 33, No. 3
 * Azlan Iqbal (2010). Aesthetics in Mate-In-3 Combinations, Part II Normality. ICGA Journal, Vol. 33, No. 4

=Forum Posts=
 * What is a combination? Define it please! by Don Dailey, CCC, September 06, 1998
 * Test the combinational vision of your engine by Uri Blass, CCC, October 15, 2018

=External Links=
 * Combination (chess) from Wikipedia
 * Combination (disambiguation) from Wikipedia
 * Combo from Wikipedia
 * Improve Your Middle Game (Part 2 - Combinations) by Mark Weeks
 * The Chris Hinze Combination - Skyrider, from Sister Slick (1974), YouTube Video
 * feat. John Lee, Gerry Brown, Philip Catherine, Jasper van 't Hof, Rob Van Den Broeck, Jan Huydts, Robert Jan Stips, Henny Vonk

=References= Up one Level