Puzzle Themes

Recommended

Healthy mix۶٬۳۳۵٬۳۵۹

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

Phases

Opening۳۱۸٬۹۱۱

A tactic during the first phase of the game.

Middlegame۲٬۸۸۷٬۶۸۶

A tactic during the second phase of the game.

Endgame۳٬۱۲۸٬۷۶۲

A tactic during the last phase of the game.

Rook endgame۳۳۳٬۲۵۹

An endgame with only rooks and pawns.

Bishop endgame۸۴٬۵۳۷

An endgame with only bishops and pawns.

Pawn endgame۲۲۶٬۰۳۱

An endgame with only pawns.

Knight endgame۵۱٬۲۹۷

An endgame with only knights and pawns.

Queen endgame۷۲٬۲۵۶

An endgame with only queens and pawns.

Queen and Rook۴۶٬۷۷۷

An endgame with only queens, rooks and pawns.

By openingsMore »

Motifs

Advanced pawn۳۸۵٬۳۰۴

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

Attacking f2 or f7۴۶٬۰۲۰

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

Capture the defender۴۳٬۰۱۲

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

Discovered attack۳۲۷٬۱۳۸

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 check۳۳٬۰۰۷

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 king۱۸۷٬۸۰۳

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

Fork۸۳۱٬۰۹۳

A move where the moved piece attacks two opponent pieces at once.

Hanging piece۲۵۱٬۰۱۷

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

Kingside attack۵۴۴٬۶۷۱

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

Pin۳۸۳٬۳۸۷

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

Queenside attack۹۴٬۱۳۴

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

Sacrifice۴۶۶٬۴۲۹

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

Skewer۱۴۱٬۸۱۱

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 piece۷۳٬۴۰۴

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

Advanced

Attraction۲۲۵٬۶۰۱

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

Clearance۸۱٬۸۹۶

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

Collinear move۷٬۶۸۶

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

Discovered check۱۰۸٬۸۰۸

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

Defensive move۳۷۸٬۳۴۶

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

Deflection۲۷۳٬۰۴۹

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

Interference۲۳٬۳۲۶

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.

Intermezzo۷۸٬۵۱۳

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 move۲۵۹٬۲۸۲

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 attack۲۲٬۲۷۷

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

Zugzwang۶۴٬۰۴۹

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

Mates

Checkmate۱٬۹۵۵٬۱۰۳

Win the game with style.

Mate in 1۹۰۲٬۴۷۴

Deliver checkmate in one move.

Mate in 2۸۱۷٬۸۱۳

Deliver checkmate in two moves.

Mate in 3۱۹۹٬۲۵۰

Deliver checkmate in three moves.

Mate in 4۲۹٬۲۵۲

Deliver checkmate in four moves.

Mate in 5 or more۶٬۳۱۶

Figure out a long mating sequence.

Mate themes

Anastasia's mate۷٬۴۹۸

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

Arabian mate۷٬۴۹۱

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

Back rank mate۲۰۸٬۰۶۰

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 mate۳٬۷۴۱

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

Corner mate۱۰٬۷۸۷

Confine the king to the corner using a rook or queen and a knight to engage the checkmate.

Double bishop mate۳٬۷۱۱

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

Dovetail mate۴٬۰۷۶

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

Epaulette mate۲۲٬۶۴۸

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

Hook mate۱۰٬۷۳۶

Checkmate with a rook, knight, and pawn along with one enemy pawn to limit the enemy king's escape.

Kill box mate۵٬۵۲۰

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 mate۶۷٬۶۴۶

The rook delivers checkmate, while the bishop helps to confine it.

Morphy's mate۷٬۱۳۴

Use the bishop to check the king, while your rook helps to confine it.

Opera mate۶۳٬۹۴۱

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 mate۲۴٬۳۶۲

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

Castling۲٬۶۴۴

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

En passant rights۸٬۸۶۶

A tactic involving the en passant rule, where a pawn can capture an opponent pawn that has bypassed it using its initial two-square move.

Promotion۱۴۹٬۹۹۸

Promote one of your pawn to a queen or minor piece.

Underpromotion۱٬۱۶۵

Promotion to a knight, bishop, or rook.

Goals

Equality۴۳٬۰۳۰

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

Advantage۱٬۸۸۲٬۰۹۴

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

Crushing۲٬۴۲۵٬۹۱۶

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

Checkmate۱٬۹۵۵٬۱۰۳

Win the game with style.

Lengths

One-move puzzle۹۴۹٬۷۳۲

A puzzle that is only one move long.

Short puzzle۳٬۲۳۰٬۶۹۸

Two moves to win.

Long puzzle۱٬۶۱۶٬۸۱۸

Three moves to win.

Very long puzzle۵۰۸٬۸۹۵

Four moves or more to win.

Origin

Master games۸۳۲٬۵۲۹

Puzzles from games played by titled players.

Master vs Master games۷۶٬۹۵۵

Puzzles from games between two titled players.

Super GM games۳٬۲۶۱

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.