Mate in 2 Puzzles: Foundation Level

By the numbers

mate in 2 puzzles at foundation level: the numbers

There are 512,951 mate in 2 puzzles at foundation level, solved 398,021,299 times in total. The median rating is 927.

Often combined with

Checkmate · 512,951Endgame tactics · 318,090Middlegame tactics · 186,087Back-rank mate · 107,641Kingside attack · 80,715Sacrifice · 46,174Rook endgame tactics · 34,611Pillsbury's mate · 25,590Fork · 18,722Opera mate · 18,429

Which openings produce them?

Sicilian Defence · 7,120Italian Game · 3,761French Defence · 3,709Queen's Pawn Game · 3,382Scandinavian Defense · 2,986Caro–Kann Defence · 2,928Ruy Lopez · 2,185Scotch Game · 1,914

Counts computed from the full puzzle set.

How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine

What a typical mate in 2 solution looks like

Sample: 2,000 mate in 2 puzzles at foundation level (0.4% of all 512,951).

100% need 2 solver moves. Median rating: 925 for the shortest solutions, 925 for the longest.

44.6% open with a rook move. The first move captures in 26.3% and gives check in 99.9%; 100% end in checkmate, 21% involve a sacrifice, 51.8% have White to move.

How many moves does the solver need?

Which piece plays the key move?

What does the solver win?

Material balance along the whole line, counting every capture by both sides (pawn 1, minor piece 3, rook 5, queen 9):

How much is left on the board?

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: d8 (14%), e8 (13.8%), c8 (9%), f7 (7.5%), f8 (6.2%).

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