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Quiet move Puzzles: Advanced Level

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 2368 · solved 123,980,980 times

Difficulty 2000+

These are quiet move puzzles rated 2000+, the Advanced level on this site. They come from real rated games: 151,710 puzzles, median rating 2368, solved 123,980,980 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.

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By the numbers

quiet move puzzles at advanced level: the numbers

There are 151,710 quiet move puzzles at advanced level, solved 123,980,980 times in total. The median rating is 2368.

Often combined with

Endgame tactics · 112,797Middlegame tactics · 37,649Defensive move · 33,315Pawn endgame tactics · 31,533Advanced pawn · 18,633Rook endgame tactics · 13,882Zugzwang · 12,963Sacrifice · 9,276

Which openings produce them?

Sicilian Defence · 1,416Italian Game · 698French Defence · 633Queen's Pawn Game · 554Caro–Kann Defence · 427Scandinavian Defense · 418Ruy Lopez · 327Queen's Gambit Declined · 293

Counts computed from the full puzzle set.

How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine

What a typical quiet move solution looks like

Sample: 2,000 quiet move puzzles at advanced level (1.3% of all 151,710).

18.2% need 2 solver moves, 40.5% need 3 solver moves, 22.2% need 4 solver moves, 19% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 2288 for the shortest solutions, 2508 for the longest.

33.8% open with a pawn move. The first move captures in 23% and gives check in 14.4%; 0.6% end in checkmate, 10.6% involve a sacrifice, 50.6% have White to move.

23%first move captures
14.4%first move gives check
0.6%end in checkmate
10.6%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

2 solver moves
18.2% · median rating 2288
3 solver moves
40.5% · median rating 2347
4 solver moves
22.2% · median rating 2412
5+ solver moves
19% · median rating 2508

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a pawn
33.8%
Key move by a rook
24.2%
Key move by a queen
12.4%
Key move by a bishop
11.2%
Key move by the king
9.5%
Key move by a knight
8.8%

What does the solver win?

Captures nothing along the line
30.2%
Most valuable capture: pawn
22.6%
Most valuable capture: queen
17.6%
Most valuable capture: rook
17.4%
Most valuable capture: bishop
6.8%
Most valuable capture: knight
5.6%

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)
48.4%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
20.4%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
14.8%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
12.3%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
4.2%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
0.8%
21–27 pieces
15.6%
13–20 pieces
39.6%
12 pieces or fewer
44%

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: g5 (4.3%), h5 (4.2%), h4 (4.1%), g4 (3.6%), e5 (3.5%).

1.41.28
1.11.5121.217
1.51.32.22.52.11.46
32.31.92.83.53.54.34.25
2.22.72.32.22.82.73.64.14
11.21.112.11.91.83
2
11.11.61.51.71.41
abcdefgh

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

Study positions

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

♟♚♟
♟♟
♜♟
♟♙♗
♙♙♙♙
♖♔
Black to move · rating 2009 · solved 573 times · 4 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rb1

Solution: c2 → Rc1 → Rb5 → Kf1 → Rb1 → Ke1 → Rxc1+

♝
♙
♔
♚♙
White to move · rating 2013 · solved 574 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bh7

Solution: f4 → Kd3 → f5 → Kd4 → f6

♟
♙♙
♚♙♔
♞
White to move · rating 2046 · solved 656 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Ne1

Solution: g5 → Nxf3 → g6

♜
♙
♙♚♟
♖♔
Black to move · rating 2046 · solved 626 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: f5

Solution: g2 → e4 → Rh8 → Re3+ → Kxe3

♔♚♟
♟♟
♙♟♙
♙♙
White to move · rating 2065 · solved 605 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kc6

Solution: a5 → g5 → hxg5

♛♕♔
♟♚
♙
Black to move · rating 2075 · solved 628 times · 4 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qg6

Solution: Qxg6+ → Kxg6 → a4 → h5 → a3 → h6 → a2

♟
♟♚
♙♟♜
♙♕♞♙
♗♟♔
Black to move · rating 2136 · solved 618 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kh2

Solution: Rf1 → Bxf1 → gxf1=Q → Qxf1 → Nxf1+

♟♚
♟♟
♙♝♘♟
♔♙
♙♕♙
♛
Black to move · rating 2152 · solved 614 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qb3

Solution: Qxb3+ → Kxb3 → h5 → Kc4 → h4

♖
♙
♚
♟♜
♔
White to move · rating 2220 · solved 649 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kh5

Solution: Rg8 → Kxh6 → Rh8+ → Kg5 → Rxh2

♟
♟
♚♟♙
♙♔
♙
White to move · rating 2225 · solved 685 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kc5

Solution: a5 → Kb5 → b4 → fxg5 → Kxe5

♚♟
♟♟♟♙♟♟
♙♙♙
♙♔♙
Black to move · rating 2285 · solved 600 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: a3

Solution: bxc4 → Kxc4 → a4 → Kb5 → Kxd5

♟♚♔
♟♟
♟♙
♙♙♙
White to move · rating 2287 · solved 598 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: e5

Solution: f5 → e4 → f6 → e3 → f7

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

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