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Kingside attack Puzzles from the Italian Game

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1153 · solved 24,166,086 times

Opening: Italian Game

These kingside attack puzzles were set in games that began as the Italian Game: 14,164 puzzles, median rating 1153, solved 24,166,086 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 kingside attack puzzles Print a worksheet About the Italian Game

By the numbers

kingside attack puzzles from Italian Game games: the numbers

There are 14,164 kingside attack puzzles from Italian Game games, solved 24,166,086 times in total. The median rating is 1153.

How hard are they?

Foundation
7,557 · 53.4%
Developing
2,955 · 20.9%
Challenging
2,179 · 15.4%
Advanced
1,473 · 10.4%

Often combined with

Middlegame tactics · 11,513Checkmate · 8,776Mate in 1 · 5,126Mate in 2 · 2,878Opening tactics · 2,537Sacrifice · 1,971Discovered attack · 1,513Pin · 1,422Attraction · 776

Which openings produce them?

Italian Game · 14,164

Counts computed from the full puzzle set.

How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine

What a typical kingside attack solution looks like

Sample: 2,000 kingside attack puzzles from Italian Game games (14.1% of all 14,164).

35.8% need 1 solver move, 42.6% need 2 solver moves, 16% need 3 solver moves, 4.5% need 4 solver moves, 1.1% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 751 for the shortest solutions, 2315 for the longest.

57.8% open with a queen move. The first move captures in 72.7% and gives check in 90.4%; 60.6% end in checkmate, 28.9% involve a sacrifice, 47.6% have White to move.

72.7%first move captures
90.4%first move gives check
60.6%end in checkmate
28.9%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

1 solver move
35.8% · median rating 751
2 solver moves
42.6% · median rating 1296
3 solver moves
16% · median rating 1724
4 solver moves
4.5% · median rating 2069
5+ solver moves
1.1% · median rating 2315

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a queen
57.8%
Key move by a knight
19.8%
Key move by a bishop
10.5%
Key move by a rook
10.1%
Key move by a pawn
1.7%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: pawn
43.7%
Most valuable capture: queen
19.9%
Most valuable capture: rook
16.6%
Most valuable capture: knight
8%
Most valuable capture: bishop
6.4%
Captures nothing along the line
5.4%

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)
17.2%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
42.2%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
15.2%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
19.8%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
5.6%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
17.8%
21–27 pieces
79.6%
13–20 pieces
2.6%
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: h7 (20.2%), g7 (15.5%), f7 (11.3%), f6 (10.9%), e8 (8.4%).

2.48.43.38
3.411.315.520.27
2.310.964.76
21.41.45
1.74
3
2
1
abcdefgh

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

Study positions

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

♜♝♜♚
♟♟♟♟♟
♟♞
♕
♘♛
♙♙♙♙
♔♖♖
White to move · rating 1073 · solved 2,598 times · Mate in 3.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: b6

Solution: Qxf8+ → Kxf8 → Rd8+ → Ne8 → Rexe8#

♜♜♚
♟♟♙♟♟
♞♖
♗
♟
♕♝♛♙
♙♙♙
♖♗♔
Black to move · rating 1104 · solved 2,850 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bd5

Solution: Qxf2+ → Kh1 → Qf1#

♜♝♚♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♝♙
♛♟♗♕
♞
♙♙♙♙
♖♘♖♔
White to move · rating 1111 · solved 2,682 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Be6

Solution: f7+ → Bxf7 → Qxf7#

♜♝♛♚
♟♟♟♟♟
♟♞♞
♘♗
♙♙♙♙♙♙
♖♕♔
White to move · rating 1206 · solved 1,712 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qe8

Solution: Nxf6+ → gxf6 → Qxe8+

♜♛♚♜
♟♟♟♟
♟♟♟
♙♟
♕♗♝♞♙
♙♘♙
♙♙♙♘
♖♖♔
Black to move · rating 1291 · solved 1,816 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: dxc5

Solution: Nxh3#

♜♝♛♜♚
♟♟♟♟♟
♝♟
♘
♙♗♙
♙♕♞♙
♙
♖♘♖♔
White to move · rating 1301 · solved 1,960 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxe3

Solution: Bxf7+ → Rxf7 → Qxf7+

♜♝♜♚
♟♟♟♟♞♟♟
♞
♛♘
♖
♕
♙♙♙♙
♖♗♔
White to move · rating 1546 · solved 1,819 times · Mate in 3.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kxg8

Solution: Rh8+ → Kxh8 → Qh3+ → Kg8 → Qh7#

♜♜♚
♟♟♟♟♟
♝♛♟♞
♗
♕
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♘♖♔
White to move · rating 1647 · solved 1,169 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: fxe6

Solution: Rxe6 → Bxf2+ → Kh1 → Qxe6 → Qxe6+

♜♚♜
♟♟♟♟
♙♟
♕♝♛♞
♙
♙♘♙♙♙
♖♗♖♔
Black to move · rating 1667 · solved 2,314 times · Mate in 3.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: a3

Solution: Ne2+ → Kh1 → Rxh2+ → Kxh2 → Qh4#

♚♜
♝♟♟♟♟
♟♞♟
♙♟♕♜
♙♗♙♞
♙♙
♘♙♙♘
♖♗♖♔
Black to move · rating 1839 · solved 1,069 times · Mate in 4.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxg5

Solution: Ne2+ → Kh1 → Rxh2+ → Kxh2 → Rh8+ → Qh4 → Rxh4#

♜♜♚
♟♟♟♟♟
♞♟
♛♟♝♗♕
♘
♙
♙♙♙♙♙♙
♖♖♔
White to move · rating 2113 · solved 384 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bf5

Solution: Nf6+ → gxf6 → Bxf6

♚♜♜
♟♟♟♞♟♟
♛♕
♝
♝♗
♗♘♘
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♖♔
Black to move · rating 2559 · solved 371 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qh6

Solution: Rxg2+ → Kxg2 → Rg8+

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 tacticsForkMate in 2Discovered attack

Same theme, other levels

Kingside attack puzzles by difficulty

Advanced levelChallenging levelFoundation levelDeveloping level