ChessPuzzlePrint Free chess puzzles, tools and printables

Real positions. Quiet practice.

Endgame tactics Puzzles: Advanced Level

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 2272 · solved 581,228,342 times

Difficulty 2000+

These are endgame tactics puzzles rated 2000+, the Advanced level on this site. They come from real rated games: 579,583 puzzles, median rating 2272, solved 581,228,342 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 endgame tactics puzzles Print a worksheet

By the numbers

endgame tactics puzzles at advanced level: the numbers

There are 579,583 endgame tactics puzzles at advanced level, solved 581,228,342 times in total. The median rating is 2272.

Often combined with

Defensive move · 143,155Quiet move · 112,797Advanced pawn · 90,235Pawn endgame tactics · 88,522Rook endgame tactics · 67,633Sacrifice · 33,717Exposed king · 33,492Fork · 32,779

Which openings produce them?

Sicilian Defence · 125Italian Game · 73Caro–Kann Defence · 51Queen's Pawn Game · 50Scandinavian Defense · 44French Defence · 43Ruy Lopez · 40Queen's Gambit Declined · 40

Counts computed from the full puzzle set.

How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine

What a typical endgame tactics solution looks like

Sample: 2,000 endgame tactics puzzles at advanced level (0.3% of all 579,583).

29.9% need 2 solver moves, 40.4% need 3 solver moves, 18.1% need 4 solver moves, 11.6% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 2196 for the shortest solutions, 2463 for the longest.

26.7% open with a pawn move. The first move captures in 27.8% and gives check in 31.6%; 2.8% end in checkmate, 11.3% involve a sacrifice, 52% have White to move.

27.8%first move captures
31.6%first move gives check
2.8%end in checkmate
11.3%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

2 solver moves
29.9% · median rating 2196
3 solver moves
40.4% · median rating 2264
4 solver moves
18.1% · median rating 2338
5+ solver moves
11.6% · median rating 2463

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a pawn
26.7%
Key move by a rook
24%
Key move by the king
17.6%
Key move by a queen
17%
Key move by a knight
7.4%
Key move by a bishop
7.2%

What does the solver win?

Captures nothing along the line
27.6%
Most valuable capture: pawn
25.3%
Most valuable capture: rook
21.7%
Most valuable capture: queen
15.3%
Most valuable capture: bishop
6%
Most valuable capture: knight
4.2%

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)
46.8%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
21.4%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
13.4%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
13.6%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
4.8%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
0%
21–27 pieces
1.2%
13–20 pieces
53.3%
12 pieces or fewer
45.4%

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: e5 (3.9%), g5 (3.8%), f5 (3.7%), d5 (3.4%), e6 (3.4%).

1.51.72.31.811.18
1.21.21.72.11.92.41.91.57
1.41.62.52.13.432.82.36
1.51.423.43.93.73.82.45
11.72.22.51.92.13.11.94
1.11.31.321.41.13
1.11.12
1
abcdefgh

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

Study positions

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

♚♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♙
♙♝♛
♙♟
♙♙♗
♖♕♔
White to move · rating 2019 · solved 1,033 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: hxg3

Solution: Bh3 → gxf2+ → Kxf2

♜
♟♙
♚♔
♖♙
Black to move · rating 2021 · solved 900 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Ke3

Solution: Re7+ → Kf3 → Rxe2 → Kxe2 → c3

♔
♟
♟
♚
♕
♙
♛
White to move · rating 2058 · solved 915 times · 4 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kxb4

Solution: Qb3+ → Kc5 → Qc3+ → Kd5 → Qc6+ → Kd4 → Qxh1

♟♟♟♟
♚
♙♟
♙♔♙♙
♖♙
♜
Black to move · rating 2062 · solved 1,168 times · 4 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rd3+

Solution: Rxd3 → fxe5+ → Kxe5 → Kxd3 → Kf5 → a5 → Kg4

♞
♙♟
♚♟
♟♘♔
♙♙
♙
Black to move · rating 2084 · solved 910 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kf5

Solution: Ne7+ → Kf4 → g5+ → Kf3 → Kxe5

♜
♟♕♟♚
♖♟
♙
♙
♙♟♔
♛
White to move · rating 2088 · solved 1,058 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kh6

Solution: Rxh5+ → Kxh5 → Qh4#

♜
♟♙♖
♟
♟♔♚
♙♙
♙♟
Black to move · rating 2090 · solved 1,181 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Ke5

Solution: h2 → Rh7 → Rxe7+

♝♖
♟♟♚
♟♛♟
♙♜
♙♟
♙
♗♖♔
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 2176 · solved 893 times · 4 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxb5

Solution: Be5+ → Rxe5 → Qf4+ → g3 → Qxe5 → Qxe5 → Rxe5

♜♜
♖♟♚♟
♟♛♟
♟♟♕
♙
♖♙
♙♙♙
♔
White to move · rating 2223 · solved 912 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rce8

Solution: Qg4+ → Kh8 → Rxe8 → Rxe8 → Rxf7

♟♟
♙♔♟♚♟
♖
♙
♜
White to move · rating 2258 · solved 963 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kf6

Solution: c7 → Rxc7 → Kxc7

♚
♟♖
♟
♙♟♙
♙♞♔
Black to move · rating 2265 · solved 916 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rh5

Solution: Nd3+ → Ke3 → f2 → Ke2 → Nf4+

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

Endgame tactics puzzles by difficulty

Foundation levelChallenging levelDeveloping level