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Middlegame tactics Puzzles from the King's Gambit Declined

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1365 · solved 11,574,723 times

Opening: King's Gambit Declined

These middlegame tactics puzzles were set in games that began as the King's Gambit Declined: 6,366 puzzles, median rating 1365, solved 11,574,723 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 6,366 middlegame tactics puzzles from King's Gambit games, solved 11,574,723 times in total. The median rating is 1365.

How hard are they?

Foundation
2,532 · 39.8%
Developing
1,564 · 24.6%
Challenging
1,228 · 19.3%
Advanced
1,042 · 16.4%

Often combined with

Checkmate · 2,625Mate in 1 · 1,707Kingside attack · 1,135Fork · 894Mate in 2 · 677Pin · 574Sacrifice · 484Discovered attack · 425Hanging piece · 324

Which openings produce them?

King's Gambit · 6,366

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 (31.4% of all 6,366).

27.2% need 1 solver move, 45.4% need 2 solver moves, 23.2% need 3 solver moves, 3% need 4 solver moves, 1.1% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 921 for the shortest solutions, 2584 for the longest.

43.2% open with a queen move. The first move captures in 44% and gives check in 69.4%; 42.1% end in checkmate, 20% involve a sacrifice, 51.6% have White to move.

44%first move captures
69.4%first move gives check
42.1%end in checkmate
20%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

1 solver move
27.2% · median rating 921
2 solver moves
45.4% · median rating 1424
3 solver moves
23.2% · median rating 1728
4 solver moves
3% · median rating 2125
5+ solver moves
1.1% · median rating 2584

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a queen
43.2%
Key move by a bishop
18.6%
Key move by a knight
18.3%
Key move by a rook
13.2%
Key move by a pawn
5.4%
Key move by the king
1.3%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: queen
28.6%
Captures nothing along the line
22.3%
Most valuable capture: rook
15.4%
Most valuable capture: pawn
13.8%
Most valuable capture: bishop
10.8%
Most valuable capture: knight
9%

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)
29%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
16.9%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
22.4%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
22%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
9.7%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
9.2%
21–27 pieces
84.8%
13–20 pieces
5.9%
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 (11.5%), h7 (5.8%), d5 (5.2%), f6 (4.5%), f8 (4.2%).

3.53.94.21.18
213.111.52.75.87
1.11.21.644.53.12.66
1.85.22.42335
2.61.32.11.12.24
111.23
2
1
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.

♕♞♜
♟♟♚♟
♟
♝♘♗
♛
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♔♖
Black to move · rating 974 · solved 1,835 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rd1

Solution: Qf2#

♜♝♛♚♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♞♟
♝♘
♙♙
♕♙
♙♙♟♙
♖♘♗♔♖
White to move · rating 1061 · solved 1,802 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kf8

Solution: Qf7#

♜♞♜♚
♟♟♟♟♟
♟♗♝
♝
♗♙♙
♘♙♛♙
♙♙♙♔
♖♕♖
Black to move · rating 1071 · solved 2,352 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kd2

Solution: Qe3#

♚♜♝♜
♟♟♟♗♟♟
♟
♛
♙♙♞
♘♕♙♝
♙♙♙♖♙
♖♗♔
Black to move · rating 1288 · solved 1,966 times · Mate in 3.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: d4

Solution: Qg5+ → Kh1 → Bg2+ → Rxg2 → Qxg2#

♜♜♚
♟♟♟♟♟♟
♞
♙♟
♙♗♙♛
♙♙♗♕♞
♘♔♙
♖
White to move · rating 1388 · solved 1,647 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qh4

Solution: Qxg3 → Qxg3+ → Kxg3

♜♝♜♚
♟♟♟♘♟♟
♞♞
♕
♛♗♙♙
♖♖♔
White to move · rating 1407 · solved 2,955 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxe5

Solution: Nh6+ → gxh6 → Qxf8#

♜♞♝♜♚
♟♟♟♟♟♟
♙
♙♙♛
♗♗
♙♙♕♔♙♞
♖♘♖
Black to move · rating 1483 · solved 2,043 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Ke2

Solution: Bg4#

♜♛♜♚
♟♟♟♟
♟♞
♝♟♘♗
♙
♙♕♙
♙♙♙♙
♖♖♔
Black to move · rating 1628 · solved 1,002 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxe5

Solution: Qd4+ → Qe3 → Qxe5 → Bxf6 → gxf6

♜♜♚
♟♟♟♟♟♟
♞♞♝
♗
♙♙♙♙
♖♗♖♔
White to move · rating 1641 · solved 1,201 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxd5

Solution: Rxd5 → Rae8 → Bf4

♜♝♜♚
♟♟♟♟
♞♟♕
♛
♗♙♝
♘♙♖
♙♙♙♙
♖♔
White to move · rating 1647 · solved 720 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qg5

Solution: Qxg5+ → Bxg5 → Rg3 → Kg7 → Rxg5+

♜♞♜
♟♟♟♟♚
♞♗
♙♟
♙♛
♙♙♕♙
♖♝♔♖
White to move · rating 2014 · solved 284 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qd3

Solution: Rxg7+ → Kxh6 → Qxf6+ → Qg6 → Rxg6+

♜♞♝♛♚
♟♟♜♟
♝♟♟
♟♙♘♕
♙♟
♙
♙♙♙
♖♘♗♔♞
White to move · rating 2524 · solved 154 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rxf7

Solution: Qxf7+ → Kh8 → f6 → Qg8 → Qg6

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