Puzzle Themes

Recommended

Healthy mix۶٬۳۹۴٬۴۳۹

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

Phases

Opening۳۲۱٬۰۴۱

A tactic during the first phase of the game.

Middlegame۲٬۹۱۲٬۷۱۵

A tactic during the second phase of the game.

Endgame۳٬۱۶۰٬۶۸۳

A tactic during the last phase of the game.

Rook endgame۳۳۵٬۹۲۹

An endgame with only rooks and pawns.

Bishop endgame۸۵٬۲۰۲

An endgame with only bishops and pawns.

Pawn endgame۲۲۷٬۹۹۸

An endgame with only pawns.

Knight endgame۵۱٬۷۰۴

An endgame with only knights and pawns.

Queen endgame۷۲٬۹۲۰

An endgame with only queens and pawns.

Queen and Rook۴۷٬۱۸۱

An endgame with only queens, rooks and pawns.

By openingsMore »

Motifs

Advanced pawn۳۸۸٬۳۴۰

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

Attacking f2 or f7۴۶٬۳۹۰

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

Capture the defender۴۳٬۱۸۴

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

Discovered attack۳۲۹٬۱۱۲

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 check۳۳٬۲۸۴

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 king۱۸۹٬۳۶۸

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

Fork۸۳۶٬۰۲۳

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

Hanging piece۲۵۲٬۵۹۲

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

Kingside attack۵۴۹٬۲۲۴

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

Pin۳۸۵٬۸۹۸

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

Queenside attack۹۴٬۹۴۹

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

Sacrifice۴۶۹٬۹۷۱

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

Skewer۱۴۲٬۸۵۹

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 piece۷۳٬۶۹۱

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

Advanced

Attraction۲۲۷٬۲۵۱

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

Clearance۸۲٬۴۶۱

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

Collinear move۷٬۷۳۶

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

Discovered check۱۰۸٬۸۰۷

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

Defensive move۳۸۰٬۷۵۸

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

Deflection۲۷۴٬۹۹۳

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

Interference۲۳٬۴۶۱

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.

Intermezzo۷۸٬۹۱۲

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 move۲۶۱٬۰۷۰

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 attack۲۲٬۴۳۰

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

Zugzwang۶۴٬۵۹۷

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

Mates

Checkmate۱٬۹۷۴٬۱۲۱

Win the game with style.

Mate in 1۹۱۲٬۲۹۳

Deliver checkmate in one move.

Mate in 2۸۲۵٬۰۰۰

Deliver checkmate in two moves.

Mate in 3۲۰۰٬۹۵۶

Deliver checkmate in three moves.

Mate in 4۲۹٬۴۸۷

Deliver checkmate in four moves.

Mate in 5 or more۶٬۳۸۷

Figure out a long mating sequence.

Mate themes

Anastasia's mate۷٬۵۷۳

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

Arabian mate۷٬۵۸۶

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

Back rank mate۲۰۹٬۸۴۸

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 mate۳٬۷۷۸

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

Corner mate۱۰٬۷۸۴

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

Double bishop mate۳٬۷۴۵

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

Dovetail mate۴٬۱۱۲

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

Epaulette mate۲۲٬۶۴۷

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

Hook mate۱۰٬۸۵۹

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 mate۶۷٬۶۴۵

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

Morphy's mate۷٬۱۳۳

Use the bishop to check the king, while your rook helps to 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 mate۲۴٬۶۰۸

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

Castling۲٬۶۵۲

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

En passant rights۸٬۹۰۲

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.

Promotion۱۵۱٬۱۷۴

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

Underpromotion۱٬۱۷۳

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)

Advantage۱٬۸۹۳٬۱۹۷

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

Crushing۲٬۴۴۰٬۲۱۶

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

Checkmate۱٬۹۷۴٬۱۲۱

Win the game with style.

Lengths

One-move puzzle۹۵۹٬۵۵۱

A puzzle that is only one move long.

Short puzzle۳٬۲۵۰٬۰۶۷

Two moves to win.

Long puzzle۱٬۶۲۸٬۷۲۸

Three moves to win.

Very long puzzle۵۱۲٬۲۱۸

Four moves or more to win.

Origin

Master games۸۳۸٬۸۶۷

Puzzles from games played by titled players.

Master vs Master games۷۷٬۲۶۸

Puzzles from games between two titled players.

Super GM games۳٬۲۸۰

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.