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Queen endgame tactics Puzzles: Developing Level

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1400 · solved 44,492,898 times

Difficulty 1200–1599

These are queen endgame tactics puzzles rated 1200–1599, the Developing level on this site. They come from real rated games: 18,343 puzzles, median rating 1400, solved 44,492,898 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 queen endgame tactics puzzles Print a worksheet

By the numbers

queen endgame tactics puzzles at developing level: the numbers

There are 18,343 queen endgame tactics puzzles at developing level, solved 44,492,898 times in total. The median rating is 1400.

Often combined with

Endgame tactics · 18,343Checkmate · 6,155Mate in 1 · 3,282Mate in 2 · 2,391Advanced pawn · 2,324Skewer · 1,981Defensive move · 1,951Quiet move · 1,011

Counts computed from the full puzzle set.

How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine

What a typical queen endgame tactics solution looks like

Sample: 2,000 queen endgame tactics puzzles at developing level (10.9% of all 18,343).

17.8% need 1 solver move, 49.8% need 2 solver moves, 23% need 3 solver moves, 6.2% need 4 solver moves, 3.2% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 1384 for the shortest solutions, 1450 for the longest.

87.8% open with a queen move. The first move captures in 24.2% and gives check in 84.3%; 34.3% end in checkmate, 17.3% involve a sacrifice, 50% have White to move.

24.2%first move captures
84.3%first move gives check
34.3%end in checkmate
17.3%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

1 solver move
17.8% · median rating 1384
2 solver moves
49.8% · median rating 1385
3 solver moves
23% · median rating 1419
4 solver moves
6.2% · median rating 1475
5+ solver moves
3.2% · median rating 1450

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a queen
87.8%
Key move by a pawn
10.7%
Key move by the king
1.6%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: queen
61.2%
Captures nothing along the line
32.7%
Most valuable capture: pawn
6.2%

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)
64.5%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
12.4%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
0.2%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
4.1%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
18.7%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
0%
21–27 pieces
0%
13–20 pieces
23.6%
12 pieces or fewer
76.4%

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: h8 (6.8%), g4 (5%), f4 (4%), e8 (3.7%), e4 (3.1%).

1.41.71.22.53.72.71.16.88
1.311.11.81.91.51.97
1.11.21.42.12.72.11.56
1.31.81.932.63.15
1.22.22.73.1451.94
1.11.71.41.72.82.21.13
1.52
1
abcdefgh

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

Study positions

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

♕♟♟
♟
♚♟
♙
♛♙♔
White to move · rating 1231 · solved 2,655 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kxd5

Solution: Qb7+ → Ke5 → Qxf3

♙
♟♚
♕♟♛♙♔
White to move · rating 1331 · solved 3,353 times · 4 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: d4

Solution: Qc6+ → Ke3 → Qxf3+ → Kxf3 → a7 → d2 → a8=Q+

♟♚
♛♙♟
♕♔
White to move · rating 1351 · solved 5,694 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxf4

Solution: Qh8+ → Kg5 → Qxh4#

♟♔
♙
♚♕
♙
♛
Black to move · rating 1358 · solved 2,787 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qf3+

Solution: Qxf3+ → gxf3 → b4

♔♕♛
♟
♚
♙♙
Black to move · rating 1396 · solved 2,725 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qf6

Solution: Qxf6+ → Kxf6 → b4

♟♚
♕♟
♙
♙♔
♟♛♙
White to move · rating 1400 · solved 2,553 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: b3

Solution: g6+ → Kh8 → Qe8#

♚
♟♟
♟
♙♕
♙♔♙
♙
♛
Black to move · rating 1404 · solved 2,610 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qe4

Solution: Qg1+ → Kh4 → Qxf2#

♚
♟
♟
♟♙♙
♙♙♙
♙♛♕♔
Black to move · rating 1443 · solved 3,240 times · 4 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qg2

Solution: Qxg2+ → Kxg2 → b4 → cxb4 → c3 → Kf3 → c2

♔
♟♕
♟
♙
♛♚
White to move · rating 1448 · solved 2,788 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxa2

Solution: Qg2+ → Kd3 → Qxa2

♙♟♚
♙♟♟
♛
♙♔
♙♕♙
Black to move · rating 1469 · solved 2,928 times · Mate in 3.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: b6

Solution: g4+ → Kh4 → Qe7+ → Qg5+ → Qxg5#

♟♛
♚
♔♟
♙♕
♙
Black to move · rating 1543 · solved 2,815 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Ka4

Solution: Qa2+ → Kb4 → a5#

♚♟♟♕
♛
♟♙
♙
♙♔
White to move · rating 1579 · solved 2,837 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: a4

Solution: Qf2 → Qxf2+ → Kxf2 → Kb6 → g5

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

Queen endgame tactics puzzles by difficulty

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