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Hanging piece Puzzles: Advanced Level

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 2230 · solved 31,347,232 times

Difficulty 2000+

These are hanging piece puzzles rated 2000+, the Advanced level on this site. They come from real rated games: 35,635 puzzles, median rating 2230, solved 31,347,232 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 hanging piece puzzles Print a worksheet

By the numbers

hanging piece puzzles at advanced level: the numbers

There are 35,635 hanging piece puzzles at advanced level, solved 31,347,232 times in total. The median rating is 2230.

Often combined with

Middlegame tactics · 20,475Endgame tactics · 13,449Defensive move · 8,239Quiet move · 2,971Advanced pawn · 1,793Opening tactics · 1,711Fork · 1,656Pin · 1,420

Which openings produce them?

Sicilian Defence · 1,168French Defence · 545Italian Game · 406Caro–Kann Defence · 393Queen's Pawn Game · 391Scandinavian Defense · 280Queen's Gambit Declined · 280Ruy Lopez · 217

Counts computed from the full puzzle set.

How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine

What a typical hanging piece solution looks like

Sample: 2,000 hanging piece puzzles at advanced level (5.6% of all 35,635).

37% need 2 solver moves, 40.6% need 3 solver moves, 14.8% need 4 solver moves, 7.6% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 2172 for the shortest solutions, 2468 for the longest.

32.8% open with a queen move. The first move captures in 100% and gives check in 18%; 0.6% end in checkmate, 11% involve a sacrifice, 47.9% have White to move.

100%first move captures
18%first move gives check
0.6%end in checkmate
11%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

2 solver moves
37% · median rating 2172
3 solver moves
40.6% · median rating 2222
4 solver moves
14.8% · median rating 2308
5+ solver moves
7.6% · median rating 2468

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a queen
32.8%
Key move by the king
22.9%
Key move by a rook
15.9%
Key move by a knight
10.4%
Key move by a pawn
9.7%
Key move by a bishop
8.3%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: rook
42.4%
Most valuable capture: bishop
21%
Most valuable capture: queen
20%
Most valuable capture: knight
16.5%

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)
2.5%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
4.4%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
42%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
39.6%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
11.5%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
4%
21–27 pieces
38.2%
13–20 pieces
39.5%
12 pieces or fewer
18.3%

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: h2 (4.2%), f2 (3.8%), e4 (3.6%), e5 (3.6%), d4 (3.3%).

2.92.42.23.31.61.58
1.61.12.32.87
1.91.62.32.61.16
12.71.93.62.51.715
1.91.33.33.61.92.814
1.12.422.21.41.23
1.21.31.13.834.22
11
abcdefgh

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

Study positions

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

♔
♟
♗♚♙
Black to move · rating 2003 · solved 702 times · 7 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxb4

Solution: axb4 → h5 → Ke5 → h6 → Kf6 → h7 → Kg7 → h8=R → Kxh8 → Kb5 → b3 → Ka4 → b2

♜♚♜
♝♟♟♝♟
♞♟
♘♛♗
♕
♗
♙♙♙♙♙
♔♖♖
Black to move · rating 2011 · solved 749 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxc4

Solution: Qxg5+ → Kb1 → O-O

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

Opponent's last move: Ng4

Solution: Rxg4 → a4 → Rxh2#

♜♚
♟♟♖♟♟
♝♟
♕♟
♙♙♛
♙♙
♙♗♔
♖♗
Black to move · rating 2070 · solved 513 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kg2

Solution: Rxe7 → Qf3 → Qd2+ → Kg3 → Re3

♘
♚♟♟
♙
♝♝♙♙
♗♟♔
White to move · rating 2084 · solved 539 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bb4

Solution: Bxb4 → b2 → Bc3+ → Ke7 → Bxb2

♚
♗♙♔♟
♙♟
♞
♙
Black to move · rating 2091 · solved 562 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: c6+

Solution: Kxb6 → c7 → Kb7 → Kd7 → Nc5+

♜♝♜♚
♟♟♟♝♟
♟♟♟♗
♛
♞
♗♘
♙♙♙♕♙♙♙
♖♔♖
White to move · rating 2093 · solved 564 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxe4

Solution: Nxe4 → Qxd2+ → Bxd2

♜♚
♟♝♜
♛
♟♕♖
♟♙♝
♙♙♙
♙♙♙
♖♔
White to move · rating 2119 · solved 490 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qg6

Solution: Qxa8+ → Rf8 → Rh8+ → Kxh8 → Qxf8+

♜
♟♛♚
♟♟♟♟♟♖
♙
♙♙♜♕
♙♘
♙♙♔
♖
Black to move · rating 2159 · solved 600 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rxh6+

Solution: Kxh6 → Qh3+ → Kg7 → Rh1 → Kf7

♜♚
♟♟
♟♛♟♝♕
♟♞♙
♜♙
♙♙♙♙
♖♖♔
White to move · rating 2211 · solved 625 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxf6

Solution: Qxf8#

♟♟
♔♙
♙
♘♚
♞
Black to move · rating 2222 · solved 589 times · 4 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: g5

Solution: Nxd3 → gxh6 → Nxf4+ → Ke4 → Kg4 → h7 → Ng6

♜♞♜♚
♟♛♟♟♗
♝♟♞♟
♟♟♙
♙♙♘♗
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♕♔♖
Black to move · rating 2474 · solved 589 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxh7+

Solution: Kxh7 → Ng5+ → Kg8 → Qc2 → g6

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

Hanging piece puzzles by difficulty

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