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Quiet move Puzzles: Developing Level

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1450 · solved 78,293,186 times

Difficulty 1200–1599

These are quiet move puzzles rated 1200–1599, the Developing level on this site. They come from real rated games: 27,719 puzzles, median rating 1450, solved 78,293,186 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 developing level: the numbers

There are 27,719 quiet move puzzles at developing level, solved 78,293,186 times in total. The median rating is 1450.

Often combined with

Endgame tactics · 24,469Pawn endgame tactics · 8,967Advanced pawn · 6,890Promotion · 3,383Middlegame tactics · 3,065Rook endgame tactics · 2,864Defensive move · 2,815Zugzwang · 2,070

Which openings produce them?

Sicilian Defence · 206French Defence · 99Queen's Pawn Game · 76Caro–Kann Defence · 69Italian Game · 65Indian Defence · 50Queen's Gambit Declined · 43Scandinavian Defense · 42

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 developing level (7.2% of all 27,719).

28.6% need 2 solver moves, 41.5% need 3 solver moves, 18% need 4 solver moves, 11.9% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 1463 for the shortest solutions, 1401 for the longest.

43.8% open with a pawn move. The first move captures in 21.1% and gives check in 12.8%; 1.2% end in checkmate, 10% involve a sacrifice, 48.9% have White to move.

21.1%first move captures
12.8%first move gives check
1.2%end in checkmate
10%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

2 solver moves
28.6% · median rating 1463
3 solver moves
41.5% · median rating 1450
4 solver moves
18% · median rating 1432
5+ solver moves
11.9% · median rating 1401

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a pawn
43.8%
Key move by a rook
21.2%
Key move by the king
10.2%
Key move by a bishop
9.6%
Key move by a queen
9.3%
Key move by a knight
6%

What does the solver win?

Captures nothing along the line
34.6%
Most valuable capture: queen
21%
Most valuable capture: pawn
17.7%
Most valuable capture: rook
17.6%
Most valuable capture: bishop
5.4%
Most valuable capture: knight
3.6%

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)
52.2%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
15.1%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
13.6%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
13.4%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
5.6%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
0.7%
21–27 pieces
8.5%
13–20 pieces
28.9%
12 pieces or fewer
61.9%

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: h5 (5.9%), a5 (5.5%), g5 (4.5%), h4 (4.5%), b5 (4.5%).

1.41.21.28
1.37
111.21.526
5.54.54.23.73.644.55.95
3.12.32.221.93.234.54
1.41.111.11.32.23
2
1.21.11.91
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 1252 · solved 2,729 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: gxh3

Solution: Rg6 → Qg4 → fxg4

♝
♟
♟♙♗
♙♚♔
♙
Black to move · rating 1260 · solved 2,557 times · 7 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxf5

Solution: Bxf5 → Kxf5 → Kxb4 → g4 → Kxc5 → g5 → b4 → g6 → b3 → g7 → b2 → g8=Q → b1=Q+

♟♟
♔♚
♙
♙
White to move · rating 1265 · solved 4,646 times · 6 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kf4

Solution: Kxd5 → Kg3 → c4 → Kxh3 → c5 → g4 → c6 → g3 → c7 → Kh2 → c8=Q

♟♟
♟♚♙
♔♙
♙
Black to move · rating 1284 · solved 3,107 times · 7 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: g5

Solution: hxg5 → hxg5 → Kb4 → Ke5 → Kxb3 → Kf6 → a4 → Kxg6 → a3 → Kf7 → a2 → g6 → a1=Q

♟♔♟
♟♟
♙♙♙
♚
White to move · rating 1318 · solved 3,700 times · 5 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kxg3

Solution: Kxb6 → Kxh4 → c5 → g5 → c6 → g4 → c7 → g3 → c8=Q

♚
♙♟
♟♗♟
♟♟
♜♙
♟♔♙
White to move · rating 1331 · solved 2,948 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: a3

Solution: Bd5 → Rxd5 → exd5

♚♟♟♙♟
♙♔
White to move · rating 1351 · solved 2,974 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: gxf4

Solution: g5 → Kc3 → g6 → d3 → cxd3

♜
♙
♙♚
♟
♖♔
Black to move · rating 1382 · solved 3,476 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rd1

Solution: Rh5 → d4 → Rh1#

♟
♟
♔
♚
♙
♙♙
Black to move · rating 1457 · solved 2,825 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kxb5

Solution: f5 → Kc5 → f4 → b4 → f3

♟♟
♟♟♙
♙
♙♔♚♙
White to move · rating 1468 · solved 3,285 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kg3

Solution: g5 → Kf4 → f6 → gxf6 → gxf6

♚
♟♟
♔♙♙
Black to move · rating 1526 · solved 5,237 times · 4 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: h5

Solution: gxh5 → g6 → h4 → g7 → Kf7 → g8=R → Kxg8

♟♟
♚
♙♙
♔
Black to move · rating 1584 · solved 3,069 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: a4

Solution: a5 → Kd3 → Kb4

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

Quiet move puzzles by difficulty

Advanced levelChallenging level