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Middlegame tactics Puzzles from the King's Gambit

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1405 · solved 24,292,602 times

Opening: King's Gambit

These middlegame tactics puzzles were set in games that began as the King's Gambit: 13,424 puzzles, median rating 1405, solved 24,292,602 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.

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By the numbers

middlegame tactics puzzles from King's Gambit games: the numbers

There are 13,424 middlegame tactics puzzles from King's Gambit games, solved 24,292,602 times in total. The median rating is 1405.

How hard are they?

Foundation
5,069 · 37.8%
Developing
3,208 · 23.9%
Challenging
2,626 · 19.6%
Advanced
2,521 · 18.8%

Often combined with

Checkmate · 5,222Mate in 1 · 3,434Kingside attack · 2,176Fork · 1,842Mate in 2 · 1,366Pin · 1,130Sacrifice · 1,076Discovered attack · 1,068

Which openings produce them?

King's Gambit · 13,424

Counts computed from the full puzzle set.

How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine

What a typical middlegame tactics solution looks like

Sample: 2,000 middlegame tactics puzzles from King's Gambit games (14.9% of all 13,424).

24% need 1 solver move, 49.6% need 2 solver moves, 20.6% need 3 solver moves, 4.4% need 4 solver moves, 1.4% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 903 for the shortest solutions, 2325 for the longest.

43.1% open with a queen move. The first move captures in 46.9% and gives check in 66.4%; 37.4% end in checkmate, 23.8% involve a sacrifice, 66.2% have White to move.

46.9%first move captures
66.4%first move gives check
37.4%end in checkmate
23.8%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

1 solver move
24% · median rating 903
2 solver moves
49.6% · median rating 1436
3 solver moves
20.6% · median rating 1853
4 solver moves
4.4% · median rating 2127
5+ solver moves
1.4% · median rating 2325

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a queen
43.1%
Key move by a bishop
18.1%
Key move by a knight
17.5%
Key move by a rook
15%
Key move by a pawn
5.2%
Key move by the king
1%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: queen
29.9%
Captures nothing along the line
19%
Most valuable capture: pawn
14.8%
Most valuable capture: rook
14.5%
Most valuable capture: bishop
12.3%
Most valuable capture: knight
9.4%

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)
27.6%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
17%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
25.7%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
20.4%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
9.3%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
11.6%
21–27 pieces
81%
13–20 pieces
7.3%
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: f7 (11.8%), f6 (5.3%), h7 (4.7%), f8 (4.3%), d5 (4.2%).

2.33.74.38
11.81.12.211.83.54.77
1.72.53.85.332.46
2.24.23.62.23.52.75
21.61.91.71.91.44
11.13
2
11
abcdefgh

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

Study positions

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

♚♞♜
♟♟♟♗♟♟
♛
♝♗
♘♝
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♔
White to move · rating 1018 · solved 1,947 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxf3

Solution: Be6+ → Kb8 → Rd8#

♜♝♚
♟♟♟♟♝♗♟
♞
♙
♕♟
♘♛
♙♙♙♙
♖♗♔♖
Black to move · rating 1104 · solved 2,431 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: d5

Solution: Bc5+ → Be3 → Bxe3+ → Qxe3 → Qxe3+

♜♝♚
♟♟♟♝♜
♞♘♟
♛♟
♟
♙♙♙♕♙♙
♖♗♖♔
White to move · rating 1113 · solved 1,680 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxd5

Solution: Qe8+ → Bf8 → Qxf8#

♜♜♚
♟♛♟♟♟
♟♙
♞
♙
♘♕
♙♙♙♙
♖♖♔
Black to move · rating 1269 · solved 3,074 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: d6

Solution: Qc5+ → Kh1 → Nxd3

♜♞♝♚♝♜
♟♟♟♛♟
♞♗
♟♕
♙♗
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♘♔♖
White to move · rating 1309 · solved 3,061 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: fxe5

Solution: Bg5 → Qxg5 → Qxg5+

♚♜♝♜
♟♟♟
♞♛♞
♗♟♘♟
♙♝
♙♗
♙♙♘♙♙
♖♕♖♔
Black to move · rating 1502 · solved 2,332 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxg5

Solution: Qe3+ → Bf2 → Qxg5

♜♞♝
♟♟♟♟♚
♛♞
♟
♗♙♟
♘♙
♙♙♙♕♙
♖♔
White to move · rating 1547 · solved 3,921 times · 4 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qf6

Solution: Qxf6+ → Kxf6 → Nd5+ → Kg5 → Nxc7 → Nc6 → Nxa8

♜♚♞♞♜
♟♟♟♛♝
♕♟
♙
♖♙
♘
♙♙♙♙
♖♔
White to move · rating 1664 · solved 1,095 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Ne8

Solution: Rd1 → Qxd1+ → Nxd1

♜♛♜♚
♟♟♟♝♟♟♟
♞
♗
♗♙♙
♕♙
♙♙♙
♖♖♔
Black to move · rating 1688 · solved 1,013 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxf3

Solution: Nxe5 → dxe5 → Qd4+ → Kg2 → Qxc4

♜♞♝♜♚
♟♟♟♟♟
♝
♗♕
♙♛♙♙
♖♖♔
White to move · rating 1690 · solved 1,459 times · Mate in 3.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxe5

Solution: Qxf7+ → Rxf7 → Rxc8+ → Rf8 → Rfxf8#

♚♜
♟♟♟♛♝♟♕
♟♝
♙♞
♘♙♗♙
♙♙♙
♔♖♖
Black to move · rating 2042 · solved 528 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qh7

Solution: Bg5+ → Kb1 → Nf6 → Qxg8+ → Nxg8

♜♞♝♜
♟♟♚
♟
♟♙
♙♕♟♝
♗♞
♙♙♙
♖♘♔
White to move · rating 2159 · solved 465 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kg7

Solution: e6 → Bxe6 → Qe5+ → Bf6 → Qxe6

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

Middlegame tactics puzzles by difficulty

Advanced levelFoundation levelChallenging levelDeveloping level