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Defensive move Puzzles: Challenging Level

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1823 · solved 164,624,480 times

Difficulty 1600–1999

These are defensive move puzzles rated 1600–1999, the Challenging level on this site. They come from real rated games: 94,358 puzzles, median rating 1823, solved 164,624,480 times. The twelve below are among the most-solved of them; try each on the board, then read the numbers further down to see how solutions at this level are built.

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By the numbers

defensive move puzzles at challenging level: the numbers

There are 94,358 defensive move puzzles at challenging level, solved 164,624,480 times in total. The median rating is 1823.

Often combined with

Endgame tactics · 68,933Middlegame tactics · 23,102Pawn endgame tactics · 12,568Rook endgame tactics · 10,778Advanced pawn · 8,748Quiet move · 7,654Hanging piece · 6,776Zugzwang · 5,678

Which openings produce them?

Sicilian Defence · 1,563French Defence · 663Queen's Pawn Game · 560Caro–Kann Defence · 515Italian Game · 499Scandinavian Defense · 363Queen's Gambit Declined · 320Indian Defence · 274

Counts computed from the full puzzle set.

How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine

What a typical defensive move solution looks like

Sample: 2,000 defensive move puzzles at challenging level (2.1% of all 94,358).

47.6% need 2 solver moves, 40.1% need 3 solver moves, 9% need 4 solver moves, 3.2% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 1810 for the shortest solutions, 1871 for the longest.

29.1% open with the king move. The first move captures in 40.6% and gives check in 16.4%; 0.2% end in checkmate, 7.4% involve a sacrifice, 50.6% have White to move.

40.6%first move captures
16.4%first move gives check
0.2%end in checkmate
7.4%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

2 solver moves
47.6% · median rating 1810
3 solver moves
40.1% · median rating 1844
4 solver moves
9% · median rating 1835
5+ solver moves
3.2% · median rating 1871

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by the king
29.1%
Key move by a pawn
22.2%
Key move by a rook
18.9%
Key move by a queen
13.5%
Key move by a bishop
9%
Key move by a knight
7.2%

What does the solver win?

Captures nothing along the line
27.2%
Most valuable capture: rook
24.4%
Most valuable capture: queen
17.2%
Most valuable capture: pawn
13.6%
Most valuable capture: bishop
9.4%
Most valuable capture: knight
8.1%

Material balance along the whole line, counting every capture by both sides (pawn 1, minor piece 3, rook 5, queen 9):

No material gained (mating or positional)
43.4%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
17%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
19.7%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
16.2%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
3.7%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
2.6%
21–27 pieces
17%
13–20 pieces
37.4%
12 pieces or fewer
43%

How it is counted: every puzzle in the sample is replayed move by move with a chess rules engine. A sacrifice means a piece that is captured on the very next ply and was worth more than what it captured itself (pawn 1, minor piece 3, rook 5, queen 9). Sample of 2,000 puzzles. Percentages are shares of the sample.

Where it happens

Where the key move lands

Where the solver’s first move ends, drawn from their own side (rank 1 is their back rank). Busiest squares: f6 (3.6%), g4 (3.3%), e4 (3.2%), f4 (3.2%), f5 (3.2%).

1.38
1.31.21.41.91.41.31.57
1.42.81.52.73.62.11.76
1.41.83.13.13.23.12.55
11.52.12.33.23.23.31.64
1.21.91.81.82.521.13
1.81.61.81.91.82
11.31.11.21
abcdefgh

Counted from the same 2,000-puzzle sample. Squares under 1% are left blank.

Study positions

The most-solved defensive move puzzles, from each difficulty level. Play each one on the board, then open the answer for the full line.

♟♚
♙♟
♔♟
♞♟
♗
White to move · rating 1600 · solved 1,575 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: bxc6

Solution: b6 → Nb5+ → Kc5 → Kd7 → b7

♜
♟♚♟
♟♛♟
♘
♙
♙♕
♙♙♜
♔♝♖♖
Black to move · rating 1611 · solved 1,829 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nh5+

Solution: gxh5 → gxh5+ → Kh8

♟
♚♙
♟
♙♙♟
♙♟♔
♖
Black to move · rating 1620 · solved 1,561 times · 4 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kxf2

Solution: Kf4 → Rxd2 → e3+ → Ke1 → exd2+ → Kxd2 → Kg3

♟
♟♜♚
♙♔♖
♙
Black to move · rating 1626 · solved 2,020 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Ke4

Solution: Rxf4+ → gxf4+ → Kf6

♖
♟♚
♙♕
♔♗♝♟
♟
♛
♙♜
White to move · rating 1629 · solved 1,551 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rd2+

Solution: Kc6 → Qe4+ → Kd7 → Qa4+ → Rc6

♚
♖
♝♙
♙
♔
♜
White to move · rating 1630 · solved 2,228 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxf6

Solution: Rf7+ → Kg8 → Rxf6 → Rh1 → Rf5

♟♚♝♖♕
♟♞♝
♟♟
♙♙♙
♙♛♗♟
♗♙
♔
Black to move · rating 1632 · solved 1,678 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rg7

Solution: Qe1+ → Rg1 → Qxe3 → Qh4+ → Kd7

♙
♚♙
♜
♖♔
Black to move · rating 1634 · solved 1,835 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rd1+

Solution: Ke3 → Kf1 → Rh1+ → Kg2 → Rxd1

♜♜♚
♞♟
♟♙♟
♘
♟♖
♕
♙
♛♔
White to move · rating 1635 · solved 1,517 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qb1+

Solution: Kh2 → Qe1 → Ne7+ → Qxe7 → fxe7

♙♚
♝♔
♙
White to move · rating 1667 · solved 1,498 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxa5

Solution: Kxa5 → Kxc6 → Kb4

♚
♙♕♟
♟♟♟
♟♙
♙
♙♛
♔
White to move · rating 1674 · solved 1,655 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qf3+

Solution: Kc2 → Qe2+ → Qd2 → Qc4+ → Qc3

♟
♟
♙♘
♙
♚♟♟♙
♙
♔
Black to move · rating 1890 · solved 1,529 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nd5

Solution: f2+ → Kf1 → e2+ → Kxf2 → Kd2

Positions and move sequences come from real rated games (CC0 data). Engine evaluations, where shown, are stored evaluations of the position (CC0).

Same theme, other levels

Defensive move puzzles by difficulty

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