Puzzle Themes
Recommended
Phases
Opening0
A tactic during the first phase of the game.
Middlegame0
A tactic during the second phase of the game.
Endgame0
A tactic during the last phase of the game.
Rook endgame0
An endgame with only rooks and pawns.
Bishop endgame0
An endgame with only bishops and pawns.
Pawn endgame0
An endgame with only pawns.
Knight endgame0
An endgame with only knights and pawns.
Queen endgame0
An endgame with only queens and pawns.
Queen and Rook0
An endgame with only queens, rooks and pawns.By openingsMore »
Motifs
Advanced pawn0
One of your pawns is deep into the opponent position, maybe threatening to promote.
Attacking f2 or f70
An attack focusing on the f2 or f7 pawn, such as in the fried liver opening.
Capture the defender0
Removing a piece that is critical to defence of another piece, allowing the now undefended piece to be captured on a following move.
Discovered attack0
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 check0
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 king0
A tactic involving a king with few defenders around it, often leading to checkmate.
Fork0
A move where a piece attacks two or more opposing pieces simultaneously.
Hanging piece0
A tactic involving an opponent piece being undefended or insufficiently defended and free to capture.
Kingside attack0
An attack of the opponent's king, after they castled on the king side.
Pin0
A tactic involving pins, where a piece is unable to move without revealing an attack on a higher value piece.
Queenside attack0
An attack of the opponent's king, after they castled on the queen side.
Sacrifice0
A tactic involving giving up material in the short-term, to gain an advantage again after a forced sequence of moves.
Skewer0
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 piece0
A piece is unable to escape capture as it has limited moves.Advanced
Attraction0
An exchange or sacrifice encouraging or forcing an opponent piece to a square that allows a follow-up tactic.
Clearance0
A move, often with tempo, that clears a square, file or diagonal for a follow-up tactical idea.
Collinear move0
Two opposing pieces face each other, and one slides along the line of attack without capturing the enemy piece.
Discovered check0
Move a piece to reveal a check from a hidden attacking piece, which often leads to a decisive advantage.
Defensive move0
A precise move or sequence of moves that is needed to avoid losing material or another advantage.
Deflection0
A move that distracts an opposing piece from another duty that it performs, such as guarding a key square. Sometimes also called "overloading".
Interference0
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.
Intermezzo0
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 move0
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 attack0
A piece attacks or defends a square, through an enemy piece.
Zugzwang0
The opponent is limited in the moves they can make, and all moves worsen their position.Mates
Checkmate0
Win the game with style.Mate in 10
Deliver checkmate in one move.Mate in 20
Deliver checkmate in two moves.Mate in 30
Deliver checkmate in three moves.Mate in 40
Deliver checkmate in four moves.Mate in 5 or more0
Figure out a long mating sequence.Mate themes
Anastasia's mate0
A knight and rook or queen team up to trap the opposing king between the side of the board and a friendly piece.
Arabian mate0
A knight and a rook team up to trap the opposing king on a corner of the board.
Back rank mate0
Checkmate the king on the home rank, when it is trapped there by its own pieces.
Balestra mate0
A bishop delivers the checkmate, while a queen blocks the remaining escape squares
Blind Swine mate0
Two rooks team up to mate the king in an area of 2 by 2 squares.
Boden's mate0
Two attacking bishops on criss-crossing diagonals deliver mate to a king obstructed by friendly pieces.
Corner mate0
Confine the king to the corner using a rook or queen, and use a knight to deliver the checkmate.
Double bishop mate0
Two attacking bishops on adjacent diagonals deliver mate to a king obstructed by friendly pieces.
Dovetail mate0
A queen delivers mate to an adjacent king, whose only two escape squares are obstructed by friendly pieces.
Epaulette mate0
Two adjacent escape squares for a checked king are occupied by other pieces.
Hook mate0
Checkmate using a rook, knight, and pawn, where an opposing pawn blocks the king's escape.
Kill box mate0
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 mate0
A rook delivers checkmate to the king, while a bishop helps confine it.
Morphy's mate0
A bishop delivers checkmate to the king, while a rook helps confine it.
Opera mate0
Check the king with a rook and use a bishop to defend the rook.
Swallow's tail mate0
A checkmate pattern that visually resembles the appearance of a swallow’s tail, similar to a V shape.
Triangle mate0
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 mate0
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 mate0
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
Castling0
Bring the king to safety, and deploy the rook for attack.
En passant0
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.
Promotion0
Promote one of your pawns to a queen, rook or minor piece.
Underpromotion0
Promotion to a knight, bishop, or rook.Goals
Equality0
Come back from a losing position, and secure a draw or a balanced position. (eval ≤ 200cp)
Advantage0
Seize your chance to get a decisive advantage. (200cp ≤ eval ≤ 600cp)
Crushing0
Spot the opponent blunder to obtain a crushing advantage. (eval ≥ 600cp)Checkmate0
Win the game with style.Lengths
One-move puzzle0
A puzzle that is only one move long.
Short puzzle0
Two moves to win.
Long puzzle0
Three moves to win.
Very long puzzle0
Four moves or more to win.Origin
Master games0
Puzzles from games played by titled players.
Master vs Master games0
Puzzles from games between two titled players.
Super GM games0
Puzzles from games played by the best players in the world.
Player games
View puzzles generated from your games, or from another player's gamesThese puzzles are in the public domain, and can be downloaded from database.lichess.org.