ChessPuzzlePrint Free chess puzzles, tools and printables

Real positions. Quiet practice.

Discovered attack Puzzles: Advanced Level

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 2232 · solved 77,609,919 times

Difficulty 2000+

These are discovered attack puzzles rated 2000+, the Advanced level on this site. They come from real rated games: 55,642 puzzles, median rating 2232, solved 77,609,919 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.

All discovered attack puzzles Print a worksheet

By the numbers

discovered attack puzzles at advanced level: the numbers

There are 55,642 discovered attack puzzles at advanced level, solved 77,609,919 times in total. The median rating is 2232.

Often combined with

Middlegame tactics · 39,215Discovered check · 24,165Endgame tactics · 14,099Sacrifice · 11,817Kingside attack · 7,958Exposed king · 5,947Fork · 5,937Pin · 5,855

Which openings produce them?

Sicilian Defence · 2,144French Defence · 890Italian Game · 854Caro–Kann Defence · 621Queen's Pawn Game · 603Scandinavian Defense · 560Queen's Gambit Declined · 431English Opening · 406

Counts computed from the full puzzle set.

How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine

What a typical discovered attack solution looks like

Sample: 2,000 discovered attack puzzles at advanced level (3.6% of all 55,642).

21.7% need 2 solver moves, 47% need 3 solver moves, 20.6% need 4 solver moves, 10.5% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 2167 for the shortest solutions, 2400 for the longest.

26.8% open with a knight move. The first move captures in 43.6% and gives check in 57%; 5.2% end in checkmate, 40.4% involve a sacrifice, 55.7% have White to move.

43.6%first move captures
57%first move gives check
5.2%end in checkmate
40.4%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

2 solver moves
21.7% · median rating 2167
3 solver moves
47% · median rating 2216
4 solver moves
20.6% · median rating 2279
5+ solver moves
10.5% · median rating 2400

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a knight
26.8%
Key move by a bishop
18.7%
Key move by a rook
18.2%
Key move by a queen
17.4%
Key move by a pawn
16.8%
Key move by the king
2.1%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: queen
37%
Most valuable capture: rook
22.3%
Most valuable capture: pawn
13.2%
Most valuable capture: bishop
11%
Most valuable capture: knight
9.4%
Captures nothing along the line
7.2%

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)
21.8%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
20.5%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
25.4%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
24.6%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
7.6%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
5.2%
21–27 pieces
48.8%
13–20 pieces
41.4%
12 pieces or fewer
4.5%

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 (7%), f7 (6.5%), e5 (5%), e6 (4.7%), d5 (4.3%).

1.11.28
1.11.31.536.53.62.87
1.12.93.44.774.13.46
1.31.84.353.23.925
1.51.72.91.92.64
1.211.33
2
1
abcdefgh

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

Study positions

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

♟
♟
♗♟♙
♔
♟
♚
White to move · rating 2002 · solved 644 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: d3

Solution: Kd4 → Ke1 → Bxd3

♜♚
♟♝♟♟
♝
♞♟♟♘
♟
♘♙♜♙♛
♙♙♙♕♙♙
♖♗♖♔
Black to move · rating 2014 · solved 578 times · Mate in 5.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Ng5

Solution: Rxg3+ → fxg3 → c4+ → d4 → Bxd4+ → Be3 → Bxe3+ → Rf2 → Qg2#

♜♚
♖♟
♟♟♟
♟♟
♙♙♛
♗♙♙
♖♔
White to move · rating 2029 · solved 846 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxd3

Solution: Rg7+ → Kh8 → Ra7+ → d4 → Rxa8+

♖
♞♚
♟♘♙
♟♟♔♙
♜
♙
♛
White to move · rating 2033 · solved 596 times · Mate in 3.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: a1=Q

Solution: Ne8+ → Kh8 → Nf6+ → Ng8 → Rxg8#

♕
♟♟♚
♜
♞♙
♖♟
♙♙♙♜
♖♔
Black to move · rating 2058 · solved 674 times · Mate in 4.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Re1

Solution: Rh1+ → Kxh1 → Nf2+ → Rxf2 → Rxe1+ → Rf1 → Rxf1#

♖♙
♟♟
♙♙♘
♙♚
♜♜♙
♖♔
Black to move · rating 2064 · solved 591 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Ng4

Solution: Rxg4 → a4 → Rxh2#

♜♞♝♛♝♜
♟♟♟♟♟♟
♚♞
♟♕
♙♘
♙♙♙♙♙♙
♖♘♗♔♖
White to move · rating 2094 · solved 639 times · 4 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nf6

Solution: Ng5+ → Kd6 → Nf7+ → Kc7 → Qxc5+ → Nc6 → Nxd8

♝♖
♟♟♚
♟♛♟
♙♜
♙♟
♙
♗♖♔
White to move · rating 2096 · solved 1,154 times · 4 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kg6

Solution: Bc2+ → Qf5 → Bxf5+ → Kxf7 → Be4+ → Ke8 → Bxb7

♜
♟
♟
♟♚♟
♙♖♜♙♟
♙♙♙♙
♖♔
Black to move · rating 2104 · solved 682 times · 5 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: b4

Solution: Rxc4 → dxc4 → Rxd2+ → Kxd2 → Kd4 → bxc5 → bxc5 → Kc2 → Kxc4

♜♜
♟♟♟♚
♞♛♟
♟♟
♙♙♕
♙♙
♙♙♙♙
♖♖♔
White to move · rating 2220 · solved 711 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rag8

Solution: fxe5 → Rxg4 → Rxf6+

♚♜
♟♟♜
♖♛
♙
♟♙
♙♕
♙♙♙
♖♔
Black to move · rating 2241 · solved 579 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rxd6

Solution: Rxg4+ → Kh1 → Rg1+ → Rxg1 → Qxh3

♝♜♜♚
♟♟
♝
♙♟♘♘
♙♟
♙♙♕
♛♙♙
♖♔
White to move · rating 2259 · solved 597 times · Mate in 3.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kh8

Solution: Nf7+ → Rxf7 → Qxb8+ → Rf8 → Qxf8#

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

Discovered attack puzzles by difficulty

Foundation levelChallenging levelDeveloping level