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Rook endgame tactics Puzzles: Challenging Level

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1792 · solved 131,657,674 times

Difficulty 1600–1999

These are rook endgame tactics puzzles rated 1600–1999, the Challenging level on this site. They come from real rated games: 58,105 puzzles, median rating 1792, solved 131,657,674 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 rook endgame tactics puzzles Print a worksheet

By the numbers

rook endgame tactics puzzles at challenging level: the numbers

There are 58,105 rook endgame tactics puzzles at challenging level, solved 131,657,674 times in total. The median rating is 1792.

Often combined with

Endgame tactics · 58,105Advanced pawn · 14,627Defensive move · 10,778Quiet move · 5,835Promotion · 5,026Deflection · 4,047Checkmate · 3,850Exposed king · 3,673

Which openings produce them?

Ruy Lopez · 2Sicilian Defence · 1Vienna Game · 1Queen's Gambit Declined · 1Four Knights Game · 1

Counts computed from the full puzzle set.

How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine

What a typical rook endgame tactics solution looks like

Sample: 2,000 rook endgame tactics puzzles at challenging level (3.4% of all 58,105).

0.8% need 1 solver move, 44% need 2 solver moves, 39.6% need 3 solver moves, 11.1% need 4 solver moves, 4.6% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 1726 for the shortest solutions, 1823 for the longest.

62% open with a rook move. The first move captures in 30% and gives check in 42.2%; 7.3% end in checkmate, 9.8% involve a sacrifice, 49.6% have White to move.

30%first move captures
42.2%first move gives check
7.3%end in checkmate
9.8%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

1 solver move
0.8% · median rating 1726
2 solver moves
44% · median rating 1783
3 solver moves
39.6% · median rating 1797
4 solver moves
11.1% · median rating 1812
5+ solver moves
4.6% · median rating 1823

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a rook
62%
Key move by a pawn
23.5%
Key move by the king
14.4%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: rook
51.8%
Captures nothing along the line
29.4%
Most valuable capture: pawn
15.4%
Most valuable capture: queen
3.4%

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)
51.6%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
20.4%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
8.4%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
16.2%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
3.4%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
0%
21–27 pieces
0%
13–20 pieces
26.4%
12 pieces or fewer
73.6%

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: f6 (3.4%), g6 (3.3%), e6 (2.9%), f7 (2.9%), g5 (2.9%).

1.21.61.21.51.21.21.12.28
1.82.41.72.722.92.12.57
2.52.12.82.52.93.43.326
12.12.22.42.42.62.91.95
1.71.71.72.22.32.11.14
1.311.111.51.13
1.111.32
1
abcdefgh

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

Study positions

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

♟
♟♚♟♟
♜♙♙♟
♙♖♔♙♙
♙
Black to move · rating 1601 · solved 2,849 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kc4

Solution: Rxa4 → Rxa4 → b5+ → Kc3 → bxa4

♜♟
♟
♚♟♔♙♙
♟
♖
White to move · rating 1608 · solved 1,657 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: d3

Solution: Ra1#

♟
♚♙
♟
♙♙♟
♙♟♔
♖
Black to move · rating 1620 · solved 1,561 times · 4 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kxf2

Solution: Kf4 → Rxd2 → e3+ → Ke1 → exd2+ → Kxd2 → Kg3

♟
♟♜♚
♙♔♖
♙
Black to move · rating 1626 · solved 2,020 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Ke4

Solution: Rxf4+ → gxf4+ → Kf6

♖
♚♙
♟♜
♟♟
♟♙
♙
♔
White to move · rating 1632 · solved 1,526 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: a4

Solution: Ra8 → Rxf7 → Ra7+ → Kb6 → Rxf7

♙
♚♙
♜
♖♔
Black to move · rating 1634 · solved 1,835 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rd1+

Solution: Ke3 → Kf1 → Rh1+ → Kg2 → Rxd1

♖
♜
♟♟♚
♙♔
♙
White to move · rating 1672 · solved 3,445 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rc6

Solution: Rh5+ → Kd6 → Rh6+ → Kc5 → Rxc6+

♔
♙
♙
♚♟
♙
♜
White to move · rating 1684 · solved 1,628 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kxe5

Solution: d7 → Rd1 → Kg8 → Rxd7 → h8=Q+

♚
♟♟
♙♖♟
♜♙
♙♔
White to move · rating 1701 · solved 1,784 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rxb3

Solution: Rg8+ → Kc7 → e7

♖
♙
♚
♟
♜♙
♔
Black to move · rating 1709 · solved 2,390 times · Mate in 3.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kg1

Solution: Kh3 → Re8 → Rd1+ → Re1 → Rxe1#

♚
♟
♟
♖♟♔
Black to move · rating 1725 · solved 1,799 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Ra2

Solution: h3+ → Kxh3 → f1=Q+

♜
♟
♟♚
♟♟♜
♖♙
♙♙♙
♖♔
White to move · rating 1743 · solved 1,591 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rxe5

Solution: Rxe5+ → Kxe5 → Re3+ → Kd4 → Rxe8

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

Rook endgame tactics puzzles by difficulty

Advanced levelFoundation levelDeveloping level