All puzzles

55 puzzles
PROMOTION
400

White to move. The pawn is one step from glory.

PROMOTION
450

White to move. Push the pawn home and give check!

PAWN FORK
500

White to move. A simple pawn move creates a double attack on two black pieces.

FOOL'S MATE
600

Black to move. White made two terrible pawn moves. Punish them immediately.

QUEEN MATE
800

Black to move. Deliver checkmate with the queen.

OPENING TRAP
800

Black to move. Occupy the center with a knight that attacks two things.

SKEWER
800

White to move. Line up the bishop to attack two targets on the same diagonal.

ROOK MATE
900

White to move. The king is trapped — deliver checkmate in one.

PIN
900

White to move. Pin the knight to the queen with the bishop.

BISHOP MATE
950

White to move. The bishop can deliver a surprising checkmate.

BACK-RANK MATE
1000

White to move. Trade rooks? Or is there something better?

DOUBLE ATTACK
1000

White to move. Capture a piece and create a double attack.

OPENING TRAP
1050

White to move. Black developed carelessly — punish the undefended f7 square.

DOUBLE ATTACK
1050

White to move. The bishop can grab a pawn and create a double threat.

PIN
1050

White to move. The bishop on b4 is pinning your knight. How do you break the pin?

KNIGHT FORK
1100

White to move. The knight can attack two pieces at once — find the forking square.

BACK-RANK MATE
1100

White to move. The enemy king is boxed in by its own pawns — find the killing blow.

X-RAY
1100

White to move. Give check and use the X-ray to win the bishop.

DOUBLE ATTACK
1150

White to move. Find the square where the queen attacks two targets at once.

SKEWER
1150

White to move. Check the king and win the bishop.

OPENING TRAP
1200

White to move. Black grabbed a pawn too greedily — exploit the weak f7 square.

DOUBLE ATTACK
1200

White to move. Find the move that gives check and wins material.

DEFLECTION
1200

White to move. Force a defender away from its post to win material.

PIN
1250

White to move. One piece can lock down the knight — find the right square.

SKEWER
1250

White to move. The rook can win the queen with a skewer.

ROYAL FORK
1300

White to move. The knight can deliver the most devastating fork in chess — find it.

BACK-RANK MATE
1300

White to move. Black's king is trapped on the back rank — deliver the blow.

PIN
1300

White to move. Pin a piece to the queen for a material advantage.

DISCOVERED CHECK
1300

White to move. The knight can uncover a check from the bishop while improving its position.

KNIGHT FORK
1350

White to move. Find the square where the knight threatens two pieces.

SKEWER
1350

White to move. Line up an attack through the king to win material behind it.

SACRIFICE
1350

White to move. A bishop sacrifice rips open the king's defenses.

DECOY
1350

White to move. Lure the enemy piece to a bad square.

DISCOVERED CHECK
1400

White to move. Moving one piece reveals a hidden attack from another — and wins big.

SACRIFICE
1400

White to move. Centralize with a threat the opponent can't ignore.

BACK-RANK MATE
1400

White to move. Black's back rank is vulnerable. Find the quiet but deadly threat.

X-RAY
1400

White to move. Your rooks see through the opponent's pieces. Use the X-ray.

KNIGHT FORK
1450

White to move. There's a tactic here — find it.

DISCOVERED ATTACK
1500

White to move. Sacrifice a piece to win more material back.

SMOTHERED MATE
1500

White to move. The king is surrounded by its own pieces. Find the mating square.

SACRIFICE
1500

White to move. Sometimes you have to give material to get more back. Find the sacrifice.

DEFLECTION
1500

White to move. One of Black's pieces is defending too many things at once. Overload it.

BACK-RANK MATE
1550

White to move. The back rank is weak. Find the combination that exploits it.

SMOTHERED MATE
1600

White to move. The enemy king is boxed in by its own pieces — deliver a classic checkmate.

GREEK GIFT
1600

White to move. The classic bishop sacrifice on h7 tears open the kingside.

INTERFERENCE
1600

White to move. Disrupt the coordination between Black's rooks.

DEFLECTION
1650

White to move. Force the king to a bad square, then exploit the consequences.

INTERFERENCE
1700

White to move. Block the communication between Black's rooks to win material.

DISCOVERED ATTACK
1700

White to move. The knight can capture with a hidden threat behind it.

ZUGZWANG
1800

White to move. Both sides are locked. Pass the move to Black to win.

GREEK GIFT
1800

White to move. Sacrifice the bishop on h7 to launch a kingside attack.

ZUGZWANG
2000

White to move. The pawns are locked. Use king maneuvers to put Black in zugzwang.

UNDERPROMOTION
2000

White to move. Promoting to a queen would be stalemate! Find the right piece.

SMOTHERED MATE
2100

Black to move. Set up the classic smothered mate combination.

WINDMILL
2200

White to move. Start the windmill — a repeating pattern of discovered attacks that wins massive material.