ChessPuzzlePrint Free chess puzzles, tools and printables

Real positions. Quiet practice.

Opening tactics Puzzles: Challenging Level

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1765 · solved 186,273,464 times

Difficulty 1600–1999

These are opening tactics puzzles rated 1600–1999, the Challenging level on this site. They come from real rated games: 55,030 puzzles, median rating 1765, solved 186,273,464 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 opening tactics puzzles Print a worksheet

By the numbers

opening tactics puzzles at challenging level: the numbers

There are 55,030 opening tactics puzzles at challenging level, solved 186,273,464 times in total. The median rating is 1765.

Often combined with

Fork · 8,911Sacrifice · 4,819Kingside attack · 4,789Checkmate · 4,405Discovered attack · 4,379Pin · 3,862Hanging piece · 3,011Attraction · 2,828Trapped piece · 2,712

Which openings produce them?

Sicilian Defence · 8,285French Defence · 3,826Italian Game · 2,910Caro–Kann Defence · 2,885Queen's Pawn Game · 2,762Scandinavian Defense · 2,440Queen's Gambit Declined · 1,849English Opening · 1,661

Counts computed from the full puzzle set.

How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine

What a typical opening tactics solution looks like

Sample: 2,000 opening tactics puzzles at challenging level (3.6% of all 55,030).

2.6% need 1 solver move, 59.8% need 2 solver moves, 32.7% need 3 solver moves, 4.4% need 4 solver moves, 0.5% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 1680 for the shortest solutions, 1784 for the longest.

28% open with a bishop move. The first move captures in 55.8% and gives check in 35.3%; 8.6% end in checkmate, 20.2% involve a sacrifice, 53.4% have White to move.

55.8%first move captures
35.3%first move gives check
8.6%end in checkmate
20.2%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

1 solver move
2.6% · median rating 1680
2 solver moves
59.8% · median rating 1760
3 solver moves
32.7% · median rating 1785
4 solver moves
4.4% · median rating 1837
5+ solver moves
0.5% · median rating 1784

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a bishop
28%
Key move by a queen
27.4%
Key move by a knight
25%
Key move by a pawn
12.6%
Key move by a rook
5.8%
Key move by the king
1.4%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: queen
32.4%
Most valuable capture: knight
23.6%
Most valuable capture: bishop
20.2%
Most valuable capture: pawn
9%
Captures nothing along the line
7.8%
Most valuable capture: rook
7%

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)
19%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
14.6%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
43%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
18.4%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
5.2%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
53.5%
21–27 pieces
46.4%
13–20 pieces
0%
12 pieces or fewer
0%

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: d5 (7%), f6 (6.4%), e5 (5.9%), f7 (5.1%), b5 (4.5%).

1.11.68
11.11.22.25.11.72.67
1.13.62.31.96.42.46
4.575.91.23.43.55
3.522.44.141.52.24
1.51.31.11.913
12
1
abcdefgh

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

Study positions

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

♜♞♚♝♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♟♞
♖♘♛
♘♟
♙♙♙♙♙♙
♖♗♕♔
White to move · rating 1604 · solved 1,537 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: gxh3

Solution: Nd6+ → Kd7 → Rxg5

♜♛♚♝♞♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♝♞
♘♙
♗♟♙
♘
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♗♕♔♖
Black to move · rating 1611 · solved 1,949 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxc4

Solution: Bxb5 → Bxb5 → Qa5+ → c3 → Qxb5

♚♜♝♞♜
♟♟♟
♞♟♟♛♟
♙♟
♙♕
♘♙
♙♙♙♘♙♙
♖♗♖♔
Black to move · rating 1617 · solved 1,671 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: fxe5

Solution: Qxf1+ → Kxf1 → hxg4

♜♚♝♞♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♛♟
♟♙♝
♞♙
♗
♙♙♘♙♙
♖♕♔♗♘♖
White to move · rating 1619 · solved 2,052 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxd4

Solution: Qa4+ → Qc6 → Qxd4

♚♝♞♜
♟♟♟♟
♘♟
♘
♛
♙♙♞♟♙♙♙
♖♗♕♔♖
Black to move · rating 1631 · solved 2,366 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxb5

Solution: Qe1+ → Qxe1 → dxe1=Q#

♜♛♜♚
♘♝♟♟♟
♟♝♞
♕♟
♙
♙
♙♙♙♙♗♙
♖♗♖♔
Black to move · rating 1646 · solved 2,926 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxb7

Solution: Bxd5 → Nxd8 → Bxg2

♜♞♝♚♝♞♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♟
♘♟
♗♙♛
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♘♗♕♔♖
White to move · rating 1660 · solved 1,454 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxg3+

Solution: hxg3 → Rxh1+ → Bf1

♜♛♚♜
♟♟♝♝♟♟
♞♟
♗♟
♙
♙♘
♙♙♙♕♙♙
♖♗♔♖
Black to move · rating 1663 · solved 1,672 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: d3

Solution: Qa5+ → Bd2 → Qxb5

♜♞♛♚♝♜
♟♟♟♝♟
♟♞♟
♘
♙
♗
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♗♕♔♖
White to move · rating 1667 · solved 1,653 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: h6

Solution: Nxf7 → Kxf7 → Bg6+

♜♞♝♛♜
♟♟♚♟♟
♟
♝
♟♘
♙
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♕♔♗♖
White to move · rating 1679 · solved 1,652 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Be5

Solution: Qh5+ → Kg8 → Qxe5

♜♝♚♜
♟♟♞♟♟
♞♟♟
♝
♘♙♗
♕
♛♙♙♙♙♙
♔♖♗♘♖
White to move · rating 1703 · solved 1,813 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxa2

Solution: Qd8+ → Nxd8 → Rxd8#

♜♝♛♚♜
♟♟♝♟
♞♟♞♟
♟♘♗
♙
♘
♙♙♗♙♙♙
♖♕♔♖
White to move · rating 1811 · solved 1,486 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: c6

Solution: Nxf6+ → Bxf6 → Qxd8+ → Bxd8 → Bxh8

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

Opening tactics puzzles by difficulty

Advanced levelFoundation levelDeveloping level