ChessPuzzlePrint Free chess puzzles, tools and printables

Real positions. Quiet practice.

Checkmate Puzzles: Developing Level

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1365 · solved 1,198,149,636 times

Difficulty 1200–1599

These are checkmate puzzles rated 1200–1599, the Developing level on this site. They come from real rated games: 402,792 puzzles, median rating 1365, solved 1,198,149,636 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 checkmate puzzles Print a worksheet

By the numbers

checkmate puzzles at developing level: the numbers

There are 402,792 checkmate puzzles at developing level, solved 1,198,149,636 times in total. The median rating is 1365.

Often combined with

Middlegame tactics · 201,400Mate in 2 · 195,614Endgame tactics · 183,732Mate in 1 · 135,339Sacrifice · 71,251Kingside attack · 67,383Mate in 3 · 62,230Attraction · 26,103Pin · 23,447Back-rank mate · 20,899

Which openings produce them?

Sicilian Defence · 10,045Italian Game · 4,342French Defence · 4,331Caro–Kann Defence · 3,945Queen's Pawn Game · 3,929Scandinavian Defense · 3,562Queen's Gambit Declined · 2,265Scotch Game · 2,068

Counts computed from the full puzzle set.

How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine

What a typical checkmate solution looks like

Sample: 2,000 checkmate puzzles at developing level (0.5% of all 402,792).

34.9% need 1 solver move, 47.7% need 2 solver moves, 15% need 3 solver moves, 2.3% need 4 solver moves. Median rating: 1350 for the shortest solutions, 1424 for the longest.

49.6% open with a queen move. The first move captures in 33.2% and gives check in 98.8%; 100% end in checkmate, 22.4% involve a sacrifice, 54.2% have White to move.

33.2%first move captures
98.8%first move gives check
100%end in checkmate
22.4%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

1 solver move
34.9% · median rating 1350
2 solver moves
47.7% · median rating 1356
3 solver moves
15% · median rating 1373
4 solver moves
2.3% · median rating 1424

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a queen
49.6%
Key move by a rook
26.4%
Key move by a knight
10.3%
Key move by a bishop
8.4%
Key move by a pawn
4.3%
Key move by the king
0.9%

What does the solver win?

Captures nothing along the line
42.8%
Most valuable capture: pawn
23.1%
Most valuable capture: rook
18.6%
Most valuable capture: queen
6.3%
Most valuable capture: bishop
4.8%
Most valuable capture: knight
4.4%

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)
58.1%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
21%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
6.6%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
10%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
4.3%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
4.4%
21–27 pieces
29.3%
13–20 pieces
55.6%
12 pieces or fewer
10.8%

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: f7 (11.2%), h7 (8.5%), h6 (6.4%), g7 (5.9%), f8 (5.6%).

2.71.42.53.75.55.62.248
1.81.52.511.25.98.57
1.111.31.73.84.86.46
1.11.31.63.15
11.14
13
2
11
abcdefgh

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

Study positions

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

♖
♟♟♚
♟
♕
♙♟
♙♙
♞♛♙♔
Black to move · rating 1219 · solved 13,728 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rd8

Solution: Qg1#

♟♕♟
♚
♟♙♝♗
♙
♔♙
♙♙♛
Black to move · rating 1246 · solved 6,677 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kb3

Solution: Qxb2+ → Ka4 → Qb4#

♜♚
♟♟♝♟♟♟
♝♟
♙
♞♘♙♙♙
♗
♘♔♕♖
♛♖
Black to move · rating 1289 · solved 7,044 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kc2

Solution: Rxb2+ → Bxb2 → Qxb2#

♜♚
♟♖♘♟
♞♟
♟
♜
♙♙♙
♔♖
White to move · rating 1349 · solved 6,465 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rb8

Solution: Ne6+ → Ke8 → Rg8#

♕
♟♟
♚♜
♖♔♙
♙
♛
Black to move · rating 1364 · solved 7,094 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: e8=Q

Solution: Qf1+ → Kg3 → Qf4#

♖
♟♚
♖
♝
♞♙
♜♙
♔
Black to move · rating 1391 · solved 7,442 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rah7

Solution: Rxf2#

♟♚
♟♕♟
♟♟
♙♞♛
♙♘
♙♙♙♙
♔
Black to move · rating 1393 · solved 6,893 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kh1

Solution: Qc1+ → Ne1 → Qxe1#

♜♚
♟♟♖♟
♞♝♕♟
♟♛
♙♙
♙♙♙♙
♖♔
White to move · rating 1393 · solved 6,555 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxg5

Solution: Rxg7+ → Kh8 → Rh7#

♚
♟♖♖
♔
♜
♜♗
♝♙♙
♙
Black to move · rating 1410 · solved 6,537 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Ka6

Solution: Ra4#

♜♛♜♚
♟♟♟♞♟♟
♝♟♙♟♕
♙♖
♙
♙♙♗♙♙
♖♔
White to move · rating 1438 · solved 6,382 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nd7

Solution: Qxh7+ → Kxh7 → Rh4#

♟♟♟♚
♟
♙♕♙♛
♙♜
♙♜♙
♖♔
♖
Black to move · rating 1472 · solved 20,685 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rg1

Solution: Rxh3+ → Kxh3 → Rh4#

♛
♚
♟♟♙♝
♟♝♟♟
♙
♙♕♙
♙♗♙
♖♔
Black to move · rating 1507 · solved 7,112 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: dxe6

Solution: Qa8+ → Qf3 → Qxf3#

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

Checkmate puzzles by difficulty

Advanced levelChallenging levelFoundation level