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Discovered attack Puzzles from the Italian Game

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1455 · solved 14,575,712 times

Opening: Italian Game

These discovered attack puzzles were set in games that began as the Italian Game: 4,903 puzzles, median rating 1455, solved 14,575,712 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 the solutions are built.

All discovered attack puzzles Print a worksheet About the Italian Game

By the numbers

discovered attack puzzles from Italian Game games: the numbers

There are 4,903 discovered attack puzzles from Italian Game games, solved 14,575,712 times in total. The median rating is 1455.

How hard are they?

Foundation
1,434 · 29.2%
Developing
1,523 · 31.1%
Challenging
1,092 · 22.3%
Advanced
854 · 17.4%

Often combined with

Middlegame tactics · 3,776Kingside attack · 1,513Discovered check · 1,208Opening tactics · 1,086Sacrifice · 465Checkmate · 350Fork · 277Pin · 276Mate in 2 · 214

Which openings produce them?

Italian Game · 4,903

Counts computed from the full puzzle set.

How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine

What a typical discovered attack solution looks like

Sample: 2,000 discovered attack puzzles from Italian Game games (40.8% of all 4,903).

1.2% need 1 solver move, 66.2% need 2 solver moves, 25.6% need 3 solver moves, 5.6% need 4 solver moves, 1.4% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 1572 for the shortest solutions, 2310 for the longest.

39.9% open with a knight move. The first move captures in 54% and gives check in 73.4%; 7.3% end in checkmate, 50.4% involve a sacrifice, 48% have White to move.

54%first move captures
73.4%first move gives check
7.3%end in checkmate
50.4%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

1 solver move
1.2% · median rating 1572
2 solver moves
66.2% · median rating 1269
3 solver moves
25.6% · median rating 1803
4 solver moves
5.6% · median rating 2120
5+ solver moves
1.4% · median rating 2310

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a knight
39.9%
Key move by a bishop
34.8%
Key move by a pawn
11%
Key move by a rook
7%
Key move by a queen
6.9%
Key move by the king
0.5%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: queen
56.3%
Most valuable capture: rook
14.5%
Most valuable capture: knight
12.2%
Most valuable capture: bishop
9.2%
Most valuable capture: pawn
5.8%
Captures nothing along the line
2.1%

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)
7.5%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
12.8%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
26.3%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
40.1%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
13.2%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
18.9%
21–27 pieces
78%
13–20 pieces
3%
12 pieces or fewer
0%

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 (15%), h7 (13.7%), f7 (10.1%), e5 (5.5%), d6 (4.2%).

8
1.12.910.12.413.77
3.14.23.7152.24.16
1.11.42.55.51.23.75
1.63.32124
3
2
1
abcdefgh

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

Study positions

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

♜♝♛♜♚
♟♟♟♟♟♟
♝
♕
♙♙
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♘♗♖♔
Black to move · rating 1105 · solved 1,379 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxd5

Solution: Bxh2+ → Kxh2 → Qxd5

♜♜♚
♟♟♟♟♟♟
♞
♟
♙
♛♗♕
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♔
White to move · rating 1133 · solved 1,505 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxa3

Solution: Bxh7+ → Kxh7 → Qxa3

♜♛♜♚
♟♟♟♟♟
♞♝♟
♕♝
♗♘
♙♙♙♙♙♙
♖♘♗♖♔
Black to move · rating 1150 · solved 1,862 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qd5

Solution: Bxh2+ → Kxh2 → Qxd5

♜♚♝♜
♟♟♟♟♟♟
♛♟♝♘
♞♘
♙♕
♙♙♙♙♙♙
♖♗♔♖
White to move · rating 1282 · solved 1,341 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nd4

Solution: Nf6+ → gxf6 → Qxd5

♜♜♚
♟♟♙♟♟♟
♗
♖
♙♙♙♙
♖♘♞♔
Black to move · rating 1298 · solved 2,983 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxe6

Solution: fxe6+ → Ke1 → Nd3+ → Ke2 → Nxc5

♜♛♜♚
♟♟♟♟♟
♝♟
♕
♙
♙♙
♙♙♘♙♙
♖♗♖♔
Black to move · rating 1354 · solved 1,396 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: gxh3

Solution: Bxh2+ → Kxh2 → Qxd5

♜♜♚
♟♟♟♟♟♟
♛♗
♝
♕
♘♙
♙♙♙♙
♖♖♔
Black to move · rating 1362 · solved 2,047 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxf6

Solution: Bxf2+ → Rxf2 → Qxc4

♜♝♛♚♜
♟♟♟♞♟
♝♟
♙♘
♙♕♞
♘
♙♙♙♙
♖♗♖♔
White to move · rating 1742 · solved 645 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: h6

Solution: d6+ → Be6 → Nxe6

♜♛♜♚
♟♟♞♟♟
♝♟
♝♟♞♘♕
♘♗
♙♙♙♙
♖♗♖♔
White to move · rating 1810 · solved 381 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxe5

Solution: Nxe6 → fxe6 → Qxe5

♜♜♚
♟♟♟♟♟
♞♞♟
♙
♘♘♛♙
♙♙♙♕♖♙
♔♖
White to move · rating 1888 · solved 484 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rad8

Solution: exf6 → Rxd2 → Rxe8+ → Kh7 → Rxd2

♜♜
♟♟♟♚
♞♛♟
♟♟
♙♙♕
♙♙
♙♙♙♙
♖♖♔
White to move · rating 2220 · solved 711 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rag8

Solution: fxe5 → Rxg4 → Rxf6+

♜♝♚♜
♟♟♞♟
♝♟♛♞♟
♗♙♘♟
♙
♙♙♙♙
♖♘♗♕♖♔
White to move · rating 2257 · solved 291 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: c6

Solution: dxc6 → Bxf2+ → Kh1 → Qxd1 → cxb7+

Positions and move sequences come from real rated games (CC0 data). Engine evaluations, where shown, are stored evaluations of the position (CC0).

Same opening, other tactics

More puzzles from the Italian Game

Middlegame tacticsCheckmateOpening tacticsKingside attackForkMate in 2

Same theme, other levels

Discovered attack puzzles by difficulty

Advanced levelFoundation levelChallenging levelDeveloping level