Pins against a bigger piece is lesson 3 of 8 in Pins and skewers, a tactics course suited to players rated around 1400 (club players). A piece pinned to a queen or rook may move, but then the piece behind it is lost. Use the pin before the opponent can break it. It has 9 interactive exercises: 9 calculated lines from real positions. You play every move on a board and get feedback straight away. The lesson is free.
What you practise
Black to move: use a pin to win material. (5 positions)
White to move: use a pin to win material. (4 positions)
Worked examples
Black to move: use a pin to win material. 1...Qe5+ 2.Ne2 Qxa1+. The knight on d4 was pinned to the rook by the queen on e5. You win the rook on a1 and come out 5 points ahead.
Black to move: use a pin to win material. 1...Qa5+ 2.c3 Qxc5. The knight on c5 was pinned to the queen by the queen on a5. You win the knight on c5 and come out 3 points ahead.
chessGM