Puzzle Themes
Recommended
Phases
Opening৩৭২
A tactic during the first phase of the game.
Middlegame১,৭৩৯
A tactic during the second phase of the game.
Endgame৮৮৯
A tactic during the last phase of the game.
Rook endgame৪৫
An endgame with only rooks and pawns.
Bishop endgame৮
An endgame with only bishops and pawns.
Pawn endgame৪
An endgame with only pawns.
Knight endgame৬
An endgame with only knights and pawns.
Queen endgame৮
An endgame with only queens and pawns.
Queen and Rook৯
An endgame with only queens, rooks and pawns.By game openingMore »
Motifs
Advanced pawn৮৩
One of your pawns is deep into the opponent position, maybe threatening to promote.
Attacking f2 or f7১৩
An attack focusing on the f2 or f7 pawn, such as in the fried liver opening.
Capture the defender৪২
Removing a piece that is critical to defence of another piece, allowing the now undefended piece to be captured on a following move.
Discovered attack২৩৬
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 check৫
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 king৫৬
A tactic involving a king with few defenders around it, often leading to checkmate.
Fork৭০৫
A move where the moved piece attacks two opponent pieces at once.
Hanging piece১৮৪
A tactic involving an opponent piece being undefended or insufficiently defended and free to capture.
Kingside attack১৪৮
An attack of the opponent's king, after they castled on the king side.
Pin১৯৯
A tactic involving pins, where a piece is unable to move without revealing an attack on a higher value piece.
Queenside attack২৫
An attack of the opponent's king, after they castled on the queen side.
Sacrifice১১৪
A tactic involving giving up material in the short-term, to gain an advantage again after a forced sequence of moves.
Skewer৯৪
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 piece৮২
A piece is unable to escape capture as it has limited moves.Advanced
Attraction৭৩
An exchange or sacrifice encouraging or forcing an opponent piece to a square that allows a follow-up tactic.
Clearance৩০
A move, often with tempo, that clears a square, file or diagonal for a follow-up tactical idea.
Defensive move১১৬
A precise move or sequence of moves that is needed to avoid losing material or another advantage.
Deflection১১৭
A move that distracts an opponent piece from another duty that it performs, such as guarding a key square. Sometimes also called "overloading".
Interference১৭
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.
Intermezzo৮৭
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 move৭৩
A move that does neither make a check or capture, nor an immediate threat to capture, but does prepare a more hidden unavoidable threat for a later move.
X-Ray attack৯
A piece attacks or defends a square, through an enemy piece.
Zugzwang১
The opponent is limited in the moves they can make, and all moves worsen their position.Mates
Checkmate১৮০
Win the game with style.Mate in 1০
Deliver checkmate in one move.Mate in 2১৩৮
Deliver checkmate in two moves.Mate in 3৩৫
Deliver checkmate in three moves.Mate in 4৭
Deliver checkmate in four moves.Mate in 5 or more০
Figure out a long mating sequence.
Anastasia's mate২
A knight and rook or queen team up to trap the opposing king between the side of the board and a friendly piece.
Arabian mate০
A knight and a rook team up to trap the opposing king on a corner of the board.
Back rank mate৪০
Checkmate the king on the home rank, when it is trapped there by its own pieces.
Boden's mate০
Two attacking bishops on criss-crossing diagonals deliver mate to a king obstructed by friendly pieces.
Double bishop mate১
Two attacking bishops on adjacent diagonals deliver mate to a king obstructed by friendly pieces.
Dovetail mate০
A queen delivers mate to an adjacent king, whose only two escape squares are obstructed by friendly pieces.
Hook mate১
Checkmate with a rook, knight, and pawn along with one enemy pawn to limit the enemy king's escape.
Smothered mate২
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
Castling৪
Bring the king to safety, and deploy the rook for attack.
En passant৪
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.
Promotion৪৪
Promote one of your pawn to a queen or minor piece.
Underpromotion২
Promotion to a knight, bishop, or rook.Goals
Equality৩৪৭
Come back from a losing position, and secure a draw or a balanced position. (eval ≤ 200cp)
Advantage১,৫৩৩
Seize your chance to get a decisive advantage. (200cp ≤ eval ≤ 600cp)
Crushing৯৪০
Spot the opponent blunder to obtain a crushing advantage. (eval ≥ 600cp)Checkmate১৮০
Win the game with style.Lengths
One-move puzzle০
A puzzle that is only one move long.
Short puzzle২,২৬১
Two moves to win.
Long puzzle৫৫৫
Three moves to win.
Very long puzzle১৮৪
Four moves or more to win.Origin
Master games১৮
Puzzles from games played by titled players.
Master vs Master games০
Puzzles from games between two titled players.
Super GM games০
Puzzles from games played by the best players in the world.
Player games
Lookup 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.