Real positions. Quiet practice.

Zugzwang Puzzles: Developing Level

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1407 · solved 21,094,977 times

Difficulty 1200–1599

These are zugzwang puzzles rated 1200–1599, the Developing level on this site. They come from real rated games: 10,200 puzzles, median rating 1407, solved 21,094,977 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 zugzwang puzzles Print a worksheet

By the numbers

zugzwang puzzles at developing level: the numbers

There are 10,200 zugzwang puzzles at developing level, solved 21,094,977 times in total. The median rating is 1407.

Often combined with

Endgame tactics · 10,200 Pawn endgame tactics · 8,153 Defensive move · 2,411 Quiet move · 2,070 Rook endgame tactics · 712 Bishop endgame tactics · 270 Advanced pawn · 260 Knight endgame tactics · 180

Counts computed from the full puzzle set.

How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine

What a typical zugzwang solution looks like

Sample: 2,000 zugzwang puzzles at developing level (19.6% of all 10,200).

36.7% need 2 solver moves, 43.3% need 3 solver moves, 14% need 4 solver moves, 6% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 1382 for the shortest solutions, 1453 for the longest.

62.8% open with the king move. The first move captures in 28.5% and gives check in 9.4%; 0.8% end in checkmate, 1.4% involve a sacrifice, 51% have White to move.

28.5%first move captures

9.4%first move gives check

0.8%end in checkmate

1.4%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

2 solver moves

36.7% · median rating 1382

3 solver moves

43.3% · median rating 1411

4 solver moves

14% · median rating 1458

5+ solver moves

6% · median rating 1453

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by the king

62.8%

Key move by a pawn

24.6%

Key move by a rook

6.8%

Key move by a bishop

2.8%

Key move by a knight

2.1%

Key move by a queen

0.8%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: pawn

50.1%

Captures nothing along the line

31%

Most valuable capture: rook

9.8%

Most valuable capture: bishop

3.9%

Most valuable capture: knight

3.4%

Most valuable capture: queen

1.8%

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%

Up to 2 pawns’ worth

45.4%

3–4 points (about a minor piece)

3.2%

5–8 points (a rook or more)

2.8%

9 or more points (a queen’s worth)

0.6%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board

21–27 pieces

13–20 pieces

15.5%

12 pieces or fewer

84.5%

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: f4 (11.3%), d4 (6.4%), e4 (6.3%), c4 (5.8%), f5 (5.3%).

								8
								7
		1	1.5	1.1	2	1.1		6
2.4	2.2	2.8	3.8	4.8	5.3	2.6	2.7	5
2.4	2.5	5.8	6.4	6.3	11.3	5	4.2	4
1.5		2.6	1.8	3.2	3.7	2	1	3
								2
								1
a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

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

Study positions

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




♚	♟
		♟
♙		♙
♔

Black to move · rating 1229 · solved 2,167 times · 2 solver moves to find.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kf2

Solution: Kf4 → Ke2 → Kg3

		♚
				♟
♟				♙
♙	♟	♔	♙

Black to move · rating 1271 · solved 3,979 times · 2 solver moves to find.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kd5

Solution: Kd7 → Kc4 → Ke6


♔
	♟
	♟	♟	♚
	♙
		♙

White to move · rating 1307 · solved 2,203 times · 3 solver moves to find.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kh5

Solution: Kxf6 → gxf4 → gxf4 → Kg4 → Ke5


♔
	♟	♟
	♚
			♙
			♙

White to move · rating 1309 · solved 2,196 times · 5 solver moves to find.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: f6

Solution: Kf7 → Ke5 → Kxg6 → f5 → h5 → f4 → h6 → f3 → h7


♟
♚	♟
		♟
		♙
♔	♙
♙

White to move · rating 1364 · solved 2,272 times · 2 solver moves to find.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kf6

Solution: Kf4 → Ke6 → Kg5



♟
♙	♚		♟
	♙		♙
	♔	♗
			♝

Black to move · rating 1383 · solved 2,196 times · 3 solver moves to find.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Be3

Solution: Bxe3 → Kxe3 → Kc4 → d5 → Kxd5



♚	♟
		♟
♙		♙
♔

Black to move · rating 1396 · solved 2,703 times · 2 solver moves to find.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kf3

Solution: Kf5 → Kg3 → Ke4

	♜	♚
♔	♟
			♙
	♙

White to move · rating 1432 · solved 2,788 times · 5 solver moves to find.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kg8

Solution: h7+ → Kg7 → f6+ → Kxh7 → Kxf8 → Kg6 → Ke7 → Kg5 → Kxf7


					♟
	♟		♚
♟		♟	♟		♙
♙		♙	♔
		♙		♙

Black to move · rating 1446 · solved 2,149 times · 4 solver moves to find.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: h5

Solution: h6 → Ke3 → Kg5 → Kf3 → Kxh5 → Kf4 → Kg6



	♟		♟
			♙	♚	♟
♟		♙		♟	♙	♟
♙						♙
	♙		♔

White to move · rating 1475 · solved 2,792 times · 3 solver moves to find.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: h4

Solution: Ke3 → b5 → cxb5 → Kxd5 → b6



♟					♟
♙		♚	♟	♙
	♙
		♔		♙

Black to move · rating 1554 · solved 2,241 times · 3 solver moves to find.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: hxg5

Solution: hxg5 → c5 → Kd5 → c6 → Kxc6



♟	♟
		♚
♙		♙
		♔

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

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