ChessPuzzlePrint Free chess puzzles, tools and printables

Real positions. Quiet practice.

Opera mate Puzzles: Developing Level

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1372 · solved 42,113,588 times

Difficulty 1200–1599

These are opera mate puzzles rated 1200–1599, the Developing level on this site. They come from real rated games: 12,305 puzzles, median rating 1372, solved 42,113,588 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 opera mate puzzles Print a worksheet

By the numbers

opera mate puzzles at developing level: the numbers

There are 12,305 opera mate puzzles at developing level, solved 42,113,588 times in total. The median rating is 1372.

Often combined with

Checkmate · 12,305Mate in 2 · 6,371Middlegame tactics · 6,213Endgame tactics · 5,880Mate in 1 · 4,103Sacrifice · 2,969Kingside attack · 1,566Mate in 3 · 1,545Attraction · 1,017Pillsbury's mate · 526

Which openings produce them?

Sicilian Defence · 192French Defence · 94Scandinavian Defense · 88Caro–Kann Defence · 76Queen's Gambit Declined · 66Italian Game · 65Scotch Game · 55Queen's Pawn Game · 53

Counts computed from the full puzzle set.

How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine

What a typical opera mate solution looks like

Sample: 2,000 opera mate puzzles at developing level (16.3% of all 12,305).

33.5% need 1 solver move, 52.3% need 2 solver moves, 12% need 3 solver moves, 2.2% need 4 solver moves. Median rating: 1340 for the shortest solutions, 1456 for the longest.

65.5% open with a rook move. The first move captures in 30% and gives check in 99.6%; 100% end in checkmate, 29.6% involve a sacrifice, 54.4% have White to move.

30%first move captures
99.6%first move gives check
100%end in checkmate
29.6%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

1 solver move
33.5% · median rating 1340
2 solver moves
52.3% · median rating 1371
3 solver moves
12% · median rating 1418
4 solver moves
2.2% · median rating 1456

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a rook
65.5%
Key move by a queen
22.2%
Key move by a bishop
8.3%
Key move by a knight
2.3%
Key move by a pawn
1.6%

What does the solver win?

Captures nothing along the line
48%
Most valuable capture: rook
25.8%
Most valuable capture: pawn
11.4%
Most valuable capture: bishop
7.1%
Most valuable capture: knight
4.6%
Most valuable capture: queen
3%

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)
74.6%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
10.7%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
6.5%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
7.4%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
0.9%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
1.2%
21–27 pieces
25.5%
13–20 pieces
63.8%
12 pieces or fewer
9.4%

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: f8 (14%), d8 (12.2%), e8 (9.1%), h7 (6.7%), g8 (6.2%).

1.51.73.512.29.1146.26.28
2.31.84.23.26.77
1.31.31.41.54.96
11.22.55
4
3
2
1
abcdefgh

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

Study positions

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

♜♚♜
♟♖♟♟♟
♞♟♝
♗♟♕
♙♙♙♙♙
♔♘
Black to move · rating 1221 · solved 4,867 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxe1

Solution: Rd1+ → Bc1 → Rxc1#

♟♚
♝♟♟♟
♘♔
♕♙
♙♖♙
♙♜♙
Black to move · rating 1222 · solved 3,721 times · Mate in 3.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kh5

Solution: Rxh2+ → Kg4 → f5+ → Kf3 → Rf2#

♟♖
♟♚
♟
♙♟♙
♞♙
♙♜♗
♔
White to move · rating 1229 · solved 3,989 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nb3

Solution: Rc7#

♜♚
♟♖
♞♙
♟♝
♘♝
♗♙♔
♙♙♗♜
♖
Black to move · rating 1252 · solved 3,443 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rh1

Solution: Rd3#

♜♖
♟♟♜♟♚
♟♟♟
♙♛
♗♙♝
♙♕♙
♙♙♔
♖
White to move · rating 1335 · solved 4,672 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bh4

Solution: Qxg7+ → Rxg7 → Rxg7#

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

Opponent's last move: Rah7

Solution: Rxf2#

♖
♟
♟
♙♟♙
♙♟♔♚
♝♜
♗
White to move · rating 1394 · solved 2,982 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kh3

Solution: Rh7+ → Kg4 → Rh4#

♜♚
♟♕♟♟
♟♗
♟♙
♝♙♞
♛♙
♙♙
♖♔
White to move · rating 1407 · solved 3,247 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxh4

Solution: Qxg8+ → Kxg8 → Rf8#

♚
♟
♟♖
♟♘
♙♜
♙♗♛
♔
White to move · rating 1489 · solved 6,092 times · Mate in 5.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxg3

Solution: Re8+ → Rd8 → Bb7+ → Kb8 → Rxd8+ → Ka7 → Ra8+ → Kb6 → Rxa6#

♚
♟♕♞♟♟
♝♟♗
♙♙
♙
♙♙♜♛
♖♔
White to move · rating 1493 · solved 4,937 times · Mate in 4.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qf2

Solution: Qa8+ → Rc8 → Qxc8+ → Nxc8 → Re8+ → Bf8 → Rxf8#

♚
♟
♟
♝♙
♗♙
♟♖♙
♜
♔
White to move · rating 1497 · solved 3,077 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: axb3

Solution: Rf8+ → Kg7 → Rg8#

♜♚
♟♘♖♟
♟♞
♟
♝♟♗
♛
♙♙
♗♖♔
White to move · rating 1497 · solved 2,984 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qc3

Solution: Bxf6+ → Bxf6 → Rxh7#

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

Opera mate puzzles by difficulty

Challenging levelFoundation level