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Checkmate Puzzles from the Queen's Gambit Declined

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 897 · solved 14,746,208 times

Opening: Queen's Gambit Declined

These checkmate puzzles were set in games that began as the Queen's Gambit Declined: 15,666 puzzles, median rating 897, solved 14,746,208 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 checkmate puzzles Print a worksheet About the Queen's Gambit Declined

By the numbers

checkmate puzzles from Queen's Gambit Declined games: the numbers

There are 15,666 checkmate puzzles from Queen's Gambit Declined games, solved 14,746,208 times in total. The median rating is 897.

How hard are they?

Foundation
12,563 · 80.2%
Developing
2,265 · 14.5%
Challenging
681 · 4.3%
Advanced
157 · 1%

Often combined with

Middlegame tactics · 12,730Mate in 1 · 12,003Kingside attack · 6,245Mate in 2 · 3,104Opening tactics · 2,654Sacrifice · 854Attacks on f2 / f7 · 723Back-rank mate · 484Mate in 3 · 462Hanging piece · 428

Which openings produce them?

Queen's Gambit Declined · 15,666

Counts computed from the full puzzle set.

How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine

What a typical checkmate solution looks like

Sample: 2,000 checkmate puzzles from Queen's Gambit Declined games (12.8% of all 15,666).

76.7% need 1 solver move, 20% need 2 solver moves, 2.8% need 3 solver moves, 0.5% need 4 solver moves. Median rating: 832 for the shortest solutions, 1567 for the longest.

70.4% open with a queen move. The first move captures in 46.4% and gives check in 99.8%; 100% end in checkmate, 7.4% involve a sacrifice, 62.6% have White to move.

46.4%first move captures
99.8%first move gives check
100%end in checkmate
7.4%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

1 solver move
76.7% · median rating 832
2 solver moves
20% · median rating 1128
3 solver moves
2.8% · median rating 1462
4 solver moves
0.5% · median rating 1567

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a queen
70.4%
Key move by a knight
13%
Key move by a rook
8.5%
Key move by a bishop
7.4%
Key move by a pawn
0.6%

What does the solver win?

Captures nothing along the line
44.8%
Most valuable capture: pawn
40.4%
Most valuable capture: rook
5.8%
Most valuable capture: knight
5.2%
Most valuable capture: bishop
2.3%
Most valuable capture: queen
1.5%

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)
50.8%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
39.6%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
4.5%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
4.4%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
0.7%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
15.2%
21–27 pieces
78.8%
13–20 pieces
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 (35.1%), g7 (11.6%), f7 (8.7%), d8 (8.3%), f6 (5.2%).

1.98.32.51.48
2.72.31.68.711.635.17
1.61.55.22.21.76
11.65
4
3
2
1
abcdefgh

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

Study positions

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

♜♜♚
♟♝♟♟♟
♟♟
♛
♙♘♙
♙
♗♙♙
♖♕♖♔
Black to move · rating 691 · solved 3,211 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxd4

Solution: Qxg2#

♜♜♚
♟♟♟♟♟
♝
♟♙
♙♕♞
♘♛
♙♗♙
♖♗♖♔
Black to move · rating 929 · solved 13,103 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qe4

Solution: Qg2#

♜♛♜♚
♟♟
♝♟♝♟♞♟
♟
♙♘
♙♘♙
♙♕♙♙
♗♖♔♖
White to move · rating 1106 · solved 2,245 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rc8

Solution: Nxf6+ → Qxf6 → Qh7#

♜♜♚
♟♟♟♞♟♟
♟♘
♛
♙♙
♙♝♙♗
♖♕♔♖
White to move · rating 1234 · solved 2,535 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxd2

Solution: Rh8#

♜♞♝♛♜
♟♟♟♝♚
♟♟
♟♘♕
♙♙♙♞
♘
♙♙♙♙
♖♗♔♗
White to move · rating 1332 · solved 1,563 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: h6

Solution: Qf7#

♚♜♜
♟♞♟♟♟
♟♞
♗♟
♙♗
♙
♙♙♙♙
♖♔♖
White to move · rating 1357 · solved 2,465 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Ngf6

Solution: Ba6#

♜♚♜
♟♝♟♟♝♟
♟♟
♗
♞♙♙
♛
♙♕♘♙♙♙
♖♖♔
White to move · rating 1463 · solved 2,623 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxb4

Solution: Qxc8#

♜♛♚♜
♟♟♟♝♟♟♟
♞♞
♙
♙♙♟♙♝
♙♘♙
♘♙♙
♖♗♕♔♗♖
Black to move · rating 1623 · solved 1,121 times · Mate in 3.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: h3

Solution: Bh4+ → Nxh4 → Qxh4+ → g3 → Qxg3#

♚♜
♕♟♟♟♟
♛
♘♞
♙♙
♙♙♙
♖♖♔
Black to move · rating 1690 · solved 2,044 times · Mate in 3.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxa7

Solution: Rh1+ → Kxh1 → Qh5+ → Kg1 → Qh2#

♜♝♛♜♚
♟♟♝
♞♕
♞♟
♗
♘♙
♙♙♘♙♙♙
♖♖♔
White to move · rating 1701 · solved 1,041 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rg8

Solution: Bxf6+ → Bxf6 → Qh6#

♗♚♜
♕♟♞♟♟♟
♟
♝
♝♟♙♞
♘♙♙
♙♜♙♙
♖♘♔♗♖
Black to move · rating 2001 · solved 428 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxd8

Solution: Rxb1+ → Rxb1 → Bxc3#

♜♛♚♜
♟♝♟♞♟♟♟
♟♟
♘
♝♙
♙♙
♙♙♗♙♙
♖♕♔♗♘♖
Black to move · rating 2029 · solved 631 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxd5

Solution: Qh4+ → g3 → Qxg3#

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 Queen's Gambit Declined

Middlegame tacticsOpening tacticsFork

Same theme, other levels

Checkmate puzzles by difficulty

Advanced levelChallenging levelDeveloping levelFoundation level