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Hanging piece Puzzles: Foundation Level

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 885 · solved 54,828,886 times

Difficulty 600–1199

These are hanging piece puzzles rated 600–1199, the Foundation level on this site. They come from real rated games: 90,038 puzzles, median rating 885, solved 54,828,886 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

hanging piece puzzles at foundation level: the numbers

There are 90,038 hanging piece puzzles at foundation level, solved 54,828,886 times in total. The median rating is 885.

Often combined with

Checkmate · 55,968Mate in 1 · 43,876Middlegame tactics · 42,751Endgame tactics · 42,488Kingside attack · 13,970Back-rank mate · 12,191Mate in 2 · 11,375Opening tactics · 4,799

Which openings produce them?

Sicilian Defence · 3,408Italian Game · 1,459French Defence · 1,392Queen's Pawn Game · 1,143Caro–Kann Defence · 1,067Ruy Lopez · 964Scandinavian Defense · 953Scotch Game · 797

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 foundation level (2.2% of all 90,038).

48.4% need 1 solver move, 43.5% need 2 solver moves, 7.4% need 3 solver moves, 0.6% need 4 solver moves. Median rating: 735 for the shortest solutions, 1042 for the longest.

48.7% open with a queen move. The first move captures in 100% and gives check in 71.6%; 63.5% end in checkmate, 0.8% involve a sacrifice, 47.6% have White to move.

100%first move captures
71.6%first move gives check
63.5%end in checkmate
0.8%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

1 solver move
48.4% · median rating 735
2 solver moves
43.5% · median rating 978
3 solver moves
7.4% · median rating 1039
4 solver moves
0.6% · median rating 1042

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a queen
48.7%
Key move by a rook
26.3%
Key move by a knight
8%
Key move by the king
7.6%
Key move by a bishop
6.5%
Key move by a pawn
3%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: rook
56.6%
Most valuable capture: queen
26.9%
Most valuable capture: bishop
9.6%
Most valuable capture: knight
6.9%

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)
0.2%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
0.3%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
22.5%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
49.2%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
27.8%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
4.9%
21–27 pieces
33.4%
13–20 pieces
51.5%
12 pieces or fewer
10.2%

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: e8 (17.8%), f8 (14.2%), d8 (12%), c8 (5%), a8 (4.6%).

4.62.151217.814.22.18
1.61.17
11.62.81.26
1.21.32.411.35
1.31.61.21.14
1.43
1.711.12
1
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 699 · solved 2,696 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rxd3

Solution: Rxf1#

♚♟
♟♜♕♟
♟♟♟
♙♛
♙♘
♟
♔♖
White to move · rating 752 · solved 2,392 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rxd6+

Solution: Qxd6 → Qd4+ → Qxd4

♟♚♟♟
♟♟
♘♟
♞♙♙♙
♙
♜♞♖♙
♖♔
Black to move · rating 883 · solved 12,499 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Re2

Solution: Nxa1 → Rxb2 → Nxb2

♝♜
♟♟♚♟
♟♞♜♟
♞♗
♙♙♘
♙♙
♗♙♙
♖♖♔
Black to move · rating 885 · solved 8,732 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxc5

Solution: Rxc5 → Rxd8 → Rxd8

♜♚♜
♛♕♙
♟♟
♟♙
♙♙♙♙
♔♖
White to move · rating 1032 · solved 2,962 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxd6

Solution: Qxd6#

♜♚
♟♗♟
♟♜
♟♘
♙♞♟
♙♕♙♛
♖
♖♔
Black to move · rating 1093 · solved 3,361 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rh2

Solution: Qxf1#

♜♚
♜♟♟♟
♞
♟
♟♟♟
♙♙♛♙
♔♙♕♙♖
♖♗
White to move · rating 1094 · solved 2,696 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rfa8

Solution: Qxf3 → Ra2+ → Kc1 → Ra1+ → Kd2

♜♚
♟♟♖♞
♜♟
♗♟
♔
♙♙♙
♙♙
White to move · rating 1095 · solved 6,276 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kf8

Solution: Bxf6 → Nd6+ → Ke5

♟
♟
♖♞♚
♙♙
♜♗♔
Black to move · rating 1120 · solved 3,477 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: f4

Solution: Rxe3+ → Kg2 → Kxf4

♛
♚♟
♙♝
♙♖♙
♗♔
White to move · rating 1161 · solved 2,272 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kd6

Solution: Bxf4+ → Ke6 → Rc6+ → Kf7 → Rc7+

♜♚
♟♟♟
♟♟
♟
♙♙♞♗
♕♙
♖♛♙♙♙
♖♔
Black to move · rating 1177 · solved 3,250 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxc3

Solution: Qxd1+ → Qe1 → Qxe1#

♟
♚
♔
♛♖
♟
White to move · rating 1194 · solved 3,188 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: d2

Solution: Rxc3+ → Kb4 → Rd3 → d1=Q → Rxd1

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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