Strategic retreat

A strategic retreat appears to surrender ground, but it prepares an improvement unavailable from the current square. A piece may move backward to find another route, clear a vertical or diagonal line for another piece, avoid an attack that would also improve the opponent's position, or return to a square from which it can attack and defend more effectively.

Purpose separates it from a forced retreat. If a piece is attacked and has no useful alternative, it is merely answering a threat. In a strategic retreat, the player voluntarily accepts an immediate cost to obtain a more functional future position. It is often one stage of a regrouping, a sequence that reorganizes several pieces.

The retreat must still be evaluated precisely. Check the intended destination, the number of moves required, and the threats the opponent can create meanwhile. Also verify that the piece will not be just as passive on its new square. A backward move is good because of its consequences, not because it looks surprising.