Puzzle Themes
Recommended
Phases
Opening۹۵٬۷۴۳
A tactic during the first phase of the game.
Middlegame۹۰۲٬۳۶۱
A tactic during the second phase of the game.
Endgame۱٬۰۰۱٬۸۸۰
A tactic during the last phase of the game.
Rook endgame۱۰۸٬۱۹۹
An endgame with only rooks and pawns.
Bishop endgame۲۷٬۶۳۱
An endgame with only bishops and pawns.
Pawn endgame۷۴٬۰۹۴
An endgame with only pawns.
Knight endgame۱۶٬۶۷۴
An endgame with only knights and pawns.
Queen endgame۲۳٬۲۶۳
An endgame with only queens and pawns.
Queen and Rook۱۵٬۰۰۰
An endgame with only queens, rooks and pawns.By openingsMore »
Motifs
Advanced pawn۱۲۴٬۸۸۴
One of your pawns is deep into the opponent position, maybe threatening to promote.
Attacking f2 or f7۱۴٬۸۸۰
An attack focusing on the f2 or f7 pawn, such as in the fried liver opening.
Capture the defender۱۳٬۲۳۵
Removing a piece that is critical to defence of another piece, allowing the now undefended piece to be captured on a following move.
Discovered attack۱۰۱٬۵۰۹
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 check۱۰٬۶۵۶
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 king۶۰٬۱۰۹
A tactic involving a king with few defenders around it, often leading to checkmate.
Fork۲۵۷٬۱۲۹
A move where the moved piece attacks two opponent pieces at once.
Hanging piece۷۳٬۰۲۰
A tactic involving an opponent piece being undefended or insufficiently defended and free to capture.
Kingside attack۱۷۵٬۴۵۲
An attack of the opponent's king, after they castled on the king side.
Pin۱۲۰٬۶۲۶
A tactic involving pins, where a piece is unable to move without revealing an attack on a higher value piece.
Queenside attack۳۰٬۵۴۳
An attack of the opponent's king, after they castled on the queen side.
Sacrifice۱۵۱٬۷۹۹
A tactic involving giving up material in the short-term, to gain an advantage again after a forced sequence of moves.
Skewer۴۴٬۲۴۹
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 piece۲۲٬۲۶۸
A piece is unable to escape capture as it has limited moves.Advanced
Attraction۷۳٬۰۴۴
An exchange or sacrifice encouraging or forcing an opponent piece to a square that allows a follow-up tactic.
Clearance۲۶٬۶۹۸
A move, often with tempo, that clears a square, file or diagonal for a follow-up tactical idea.
Collinear move۲٬۵۸۱
Two opposing pieces face each other, and one slides along the line of attack without capturing the enemy piece.
Discovered check۳۶٬۱۱۱
Move a piece to reveal a check from a hidden attacking piece, which often leads to a decisive advantage.
Defensive move۱۲۱٬۲۴۹
A precise move or sequence of moves that is needed to avoid losing material or another advantage.
Deflection۸۶٬۹۵۲
A move that distracts an opposing piece from another duty that it performs, such as guarding a key square. Sometimes also called "overloading".
Interference۷٬۲۹۹
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.
Intermezzo۲۳٬۹۶۱
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 move۸۴٬۰۷۶
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 attack۷٬۱۲۵
A piece attacks or defends a square, through an enemy piece.
Zugzwang۲۱٬۰۱۵
The opponent is limited in the moves they can make, and all moves worsen their position.Mates
Checkmate۶۳۷٬۷۳۰
Win the game with style.Mate in 1۲۹۵٬۱۲۶
Deliver checkmate in one move.Mate in 2۲۶۶٬۱۹۶
Deliver checkmate in two moves.Mate in 3۶۴٬۸۷۸
Deliver checkmate in three moves.Mate in 4۹٬۵۰۷
Deliver checkmate in four moves.Mate in 5 or more۲٬۰۲۴
Figure out a long mating sequence.Mate themes
Anastasia's mate۲٬۵۶۹
A knight and rook or queen team up to trap the opposing king between the side of the board and a friendly piece.
Arabian mate۲٬۴۳۳
A knight and a rook team up to trap the opposing king on a corner of the board.
Back rank mate۶۸٬۲۷۵
Checkmate the king on the home rank, when it is trapped there by its own pieces.
Balestra mate۴۶۴
A bishop delivers the checkmate, while a queen blocks the remaining escape squares
Blind Swine mate۲٬۰۹۱
Two rooks team up to mate the king in an area of 2 by 2 squares.
Boden's mate۱٬۲۰۳
Two attacking bishops on criss-crossing diagonals deliver mate to a king obstructed by friendly pieces.
Corner mate۳٬۵۲۸
Confine the king to the corner using a rook or queen and a knight to engage the checkmate.
Double bishop mate۱٬۲۹۴
Two attacking bishops on adjacent diagonals deliver mate to a king obstructed by friendly pieces.
Dovetail mate۱٬۲۶۹
A queen delivers mate to an adjacent king, whose only two escape squares are obstructed by friendly pieces.
Epaulette mate۷٬۴۲۶
Two adjacent escape squares for a checked king are occupied by other pieces.
Hook mate۳٬۴۹۳
Checkmate with a rook, knight, and pawn along with one enemy pawn to limit the enemy king's escape.
Kill box mate۱٬۷۹۸
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 mate۲۲٬۳۰۰
The rook delivers checkmate, while the bishop helps to confine it.
Morphy's mate۲٬۴۲۸
Use the bishop to check the king, while your rook helps to confine it.
Opera mate۲۱٬۲۰۴
Check the king with a rook and use a bishop to defend the rook.
Swallow's tail mate۲٬۸۰۵
A checkmate pattern that visually resembles the appearance of a swallow’s tail, similar to a V shape.
Triangle mate۲٬۵۴۱
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 mate۷۷۵
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 mate۷٬۹۰۸
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
Castling۸۰۹
Bring the king to safety, and deploy the rook for attack.
En passant rights۲٬۸۱۵
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.
Promotion۴۸٬۲۸۷
Promote one of your pawn to a queen or minor piece.
Underpromotion۳۶۲
Promotion to a knight, bishop, or rook.Goals
Equality۴٬۳۱۰
Come back from a losing position, and secure a draw or a balanced position. (eval ≤ 200cp)
Advantage۵۷۹٬۰۳۰
Seize your chance to get a decisive advantage. (200cp ≤ eval ≤ 600cp)
Crushing۷۶۹٬۴۳۳
Spot the opponent blunder to obtain a crushing advantage. (eval ≥ 600cp)Checkmate۶۳۷٬۷۳۰
Win the game with style.Lengths
One-move puzzle۲۹۵٬۹۳۷
A puzzle that is only one move long.
Short puzzle۱٬۰۱۰٬۵۷۲
Two moves to win.
Long puzzle۵۲۰٬۳۵۹
Three moves to win.
Very long puzzle۱۶۳٬۶۳۷
Four moves or more to win.Origin
Master games۲۷۳٬۷۰۰
Puzzles from games played by titled players.
Master vs Master games۲۵٬۳۲۸
Puzzles from games between two titled players.
Super GM games۱٬۰۷۳
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.