Puzzle Themes

Recommended

Healthy mix۶٬۵۱۲٬۳۲۱

A bit of everything. You don't know what to expect, so be ready for anything! Just like in real games.

Phases

Opening۳۲۵٬۹۷۵

A tactic during the first phase of the game.

Middlegame۲٬۹۶۴٬۹۵۹

A tactic during the second phase of the game.

Endgame۳٬۲۲۱٬۳۸۷

A tactic during the last phase of the game.

Rook endgame۳۴۲٬۱۵۸

An endgame with only rooks and pawns.

Bishop endgame۸۶٬۷۶۲

An endgame with only bishops and pawns.

Pawn endgame۲۳۲٬۴۰۶

An endgame with only pawns.

Knight endgame۵۲٬۶۹۶

An endgame with only knights and pawns.

Queen endgame۷۴٬۳۱۵

An endgame with only queens and pawns.

Queen and Rook۴۸٬۰۲۴

An endgame with only queens, rooks and pawns.

By openingsMore »

Motifs

Advanced pawn۳۹۵٬۸۰۹

One of your pawns is deep into the opponent position, maybe threatening to promote.

Attacking f2 or f7۴۷٬۱۲۱

An attack focusing on the f2 or f7 pawn, such as in the fried liver opening.

Capture the defender۴۳٬۸۸۲

Removing a piece that is critical to defence of another piece, allowing the now undefended piece to be captured on a following move.

Discovered attack۳۳۴٬۴۰۸

Moving a piece (such as a knight), that previously blocked an attack by a long range piece (such as a rook), out of the way of that piece.

Double check۳۳٬۸۵۳

Checking with two pieces at once, as a result of a discovered attack where both the moving piece and the unveiled piece attack the opponent's king.

Exposed king۱۹۳٬۱۰۵

A tactic involving a king with few defenders around it, often leading to checkmate.

Fork۸۵۱٬۱۷۶

A move where a piece attacks two or more opposing pieces simultaneously.

Hanging piece۲۵۶٬۵۸۴

A tactic involving an opponent piece being undefended or insufficiently defended and free to capture.

Kingside attack۵۵۹٬۰۱۸

An attack of the opponent's king, after they castled on the king side.

Pin۳۹۲٬۳۷۶

A tactic involving pins, where a piece is unable to move without revealing an attack on a higher value piece.

Queenside attack۹۶٬۶۷۸

An attack of the opponent's king, after they castled on the queen side.

Sacrifice۴۷۸٬۶۸۲

A tactic involving giving up material in the short-term, to gain an advantage again after a forced sequence of moves.

Skewer۱۴۵٬۵۳۸

A motif involving a high value piece being attacked, moving out the way, and allowing a lower value piece behind it to be captured or attacked, the inverse of a pin.

Trapped piece۷۴٬۷۹۸

A piece is unable to escape capture as it has limited moves.

Advanced

Attraction۲۳۱٬۶۰۰

An exchange or sacrifice encouraging or forcing an opponent piece to a square that allows a follow-up tactic.

Clearance۸۳٬۹۲۳

A move, often with tempo, that clears a square, file or diagonal for a follow-up tactical idea.

Collinear move۷٬۸۸۷

Two opposing pieces face each other, and one slides along the line of attack without capturing the enemy piece.

Discovered check۱۰۸٬۸۰۲

Move a piece to reveal a check from a hidden attacking piece, which often leads to a decisive advantage.

Defensive move۳۸۷٬۳۵۵

A precise move or sequence of moves that is needed to avoid losing material or another advantage.

Deflection۲۷۹٬۸۰۶

A move that distracts an opposing piece from another duty that it performs, such as guarding a key square. Sometimes also called "overloading".

Interference۲۳٬۸۵۵

Moving a piece between two opponent pieces to leave one or both opponent pieces undefended, such as a knight on a defended square between two rooks.

Intermezzo۸۰٬۱۶۰

Instead of playing the expected move, first interpose another move posing an immediate threat that the opponent must answer. Also known as "Zwischenzug" or "In between".

Quiet move۲۶۵٬۸۳۸

A move that does not check, capture, or create an immediate threat to capture. Instead, it prepares a hidden and unavoidable threat for a later move.

X-Ray attack۲۲٬۸۶۳

A piece attacks or defends a square, through an enemy piece.

Zugzwang۶۵٬۸۹۹

The opponent is limited in the moves they can make, and all moves worsen their position.

Mates

Checkmate۲٬۰۱۱٬۱۸۹

Win the game with style.

Mate in 1۹۳۰٬۵۷۰

Deliver checkmate in one move.

Mate in 2۸۳۹٬۴۸۳

Deliver checkmate in two moves.

Mate in 3۲۰۴٬۵۵۹

Deliver checkmate in three moves.

Mate in 4۳۰٬۰۹۳

Deliver checkmate in four moves.

Mate in 5 or more۶٬۴۷۷

Figure out a long mating sequence.

Mate themes

Anastasia's mate۷٬۷۰۹

A knight and rook or queen team up to trap the opposing king between the side of the board and a friendly piece.

Arabian mate۷٬۷۳۳

A knight and a rook team up to trap the opposing king on a corner of the board.

Back rank mate۲۱۳٬۳۰۱

Checkmate the king on the home rank, when it is trapped there by its own pieces.

Balestra mate۱٬۳۶۸

A bishop delivers the checkmate, while a queen blocks the remaining escape squares

Blind Swine mate۶٬۳۶۱

Two rooks team up to mate the king in an area of 2 by 2 squares.

Boden's mate۳٬۸۴۹

Two attacking bishops on criss-crossing diagonals deliver mate to a king obstructed by friendly pieces.

Corner mate۱۰٬۷۸۰

Confine the king to the corner using a rook or queen, and use a knight to deliver the checkmate.

Double bishop mate۳٬۸۲۷

Two attacking bishops on adjacent diagonals deliver mate to a king obstructed by friendly pieces.

Dovetail mate۴٬۱۸۳

A queen delivers mate to an adjacent king, whose only two escape squares are obstructed by friendly pieces.

Epaulette mate۲۲٬۶۴۵

Two adjacent escape squares for a checked king are occupied by other pieces.

Hook mate۱۱٬۰۶۸

Checkmate using a rook, knight, and pawn, where an opposing pawn blocks the king's escape.

Kill box mate۵٬۵۱۹

A rook is next to the enemy king and supported by a queen that also blocks the king's escape squares. The rook and the queen catch the enemy king in a 3 by 3 "kill box".

Pillsbury's mate۶۷٬۶۴۴

A rook delivers checkmate to the king, while a bishop helps confine it.

Morphy's mate۷٬۱۳۲

A bishop delivers checkmate to the king, while a rook helps confine it.

Opera mate۶۳٬۹۴۰

Check the king with a rook and use a bishop to defend the rook.

Swallow's tail mate۸٬۳۹۸

A checkmate pattern that visually resembles the appearance of a swallow’s tail, similar to a V shape.

Triangle mate۷٬۸۵۴

The queen and rook, one square away from the enemy king, are on the same rank or file, separated by one square, forming a triangle.

Vuković mate۲٬۴۸۷

A rook and knight team up to mate the king. The rook delivers mate while supported by a third piece, and the knight is used to block the king's escape squares.

Smothered mate۲۵٬۱۶۲

A checkmate delivered by a knight in which the mated king is unable to move because it is surrounded (or smothered) by its own pieces.

Special moves

Castling۲٬۶۹۱

Bring the king to safety, and deploy the rook for attack.

En passant۹٬۰۵۷

A tactic involving the en passant rule, where a pawn can capture an opposing pawn that has just moved next to it with its initial two-square move.

Promotion۱۵۴٬۱۵۶

Promote one of your pawns to a queen, rook or minor piece.

Underpromotion۱٬۱۹۵

Promotion to a knight, bishop, or rook.

Goals

Equality۴۳٬۰۳۳

Come back from a losing position, and secure a draw or a balanced position. (eval ≤ 200cp)

Advantage۱٬۹۱۲٬۳۸۹

Seize your chance to get a decisive advantage. (200cp ≤ eval ≤ 600cp)

Crushing۲٬۴۹۱٬۶۸۳

Spot the opponent blunder to obtain a crushing advantage. (eval ≥ 600cp)

Checkmate۲٬۰۱۱٬۱۸۹

Win the game with style.

Lengths

One-move puzzle۹۷۷٬۸۴۱

A puzzle that is only one move long.

Short puzzle۳٬۲۹۷٬۱۰۰

Two moves to win.

Long puzzle۱٬۶۶۱٬۰۸۲

Three moves to win.

Very long puzzle۵۲۲٬۲۵۲

Four moves or more to win.

Origin

Master games۸۵۱٬۸۰۱

Puzzles from games played by titled players.

Master vs Master games۷۷٬۹۱۵

Puzzles from games between two titled players.

Super GM games۳٬۲۹۶

Puzzles from games played by the best players in the world.

Player games

View puzzles generated from your games, or from another player's games

These puzzles are in the public domain, and can be downloaded from database.lichess.org.