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Opening tactics Puzzles from the Queen's Gambit Declined

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1334 · solved 22,995,300 times

Opening: Queen's Gambit Declined

These opening tactics puzzles were set in games that began as the Queen's Gambit Declined: 9,648 puzzles, median rating 1334, solved 22,995,300 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 opening tactics puzzles Print a worksheet About the Queen's Gambit Declined

By the numbers

opening tactics puzzles from Queen's Gambit Declined games: the numbers

There are 9,648 opening tactics puzzles from Queen's Gambit Declined games, solved 22,995,300 times in total. The median rating is 1334.

How hard are they?

Foundation
3,809 · 39.5%
Developing
3,000 · 31.1%
Challenging
1,849 · 19.2%
Advanced
990 · 10.3%

Often combined with

Checkmate · 2,654Mate in 1 · 2,230Fork · 2,072Kingside attack · 1,128Discovered attack · 661Attacks on f2 / f7 · 507Pin · 506Hanging piece · 442

Which openings produce them?

Queen's Gambit Declined · 9,648

Counts computed from the full puzzle set.

How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine

What a typical opening tactics solution looks like

Sample: 2,000 opening tactics puzzles from Queen's Gambit Declined games (20.7% of all 9,648).

22.8% need 1 solver move, 57.2% need 2 solver moves, 17.8% need 3 solver moves, 2% need 4 solver moves. Median rating: 856 for the shortest solutions, 2097 for the longest.

42.9% open with a queen move. The first move captures in 52.2% and gives check in 62%; 27.8% end in checkmate, 15.8% involve a sacrifice, 51.6% have White to move.

52.2%first move captures
62%first move gives check
27.8%end in checkmate
15.8%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

1 solver move
22.8% · median rating 856
2 solver moves
57.2% · median rating 1343
3 solver moves
17.8% · median rating 1674
4 solver moves
2% · median rating 2097

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a queen
42.9%
Key move by a bishop
23.3%
Key move by a knight
22.5%
Key move by a pawn
6.8%
Key move by a rook
3.2%
Key move by the king
1.2%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: queen
27.2%
Most valuable capture: bishop
19.5%
Most valuable capture: knight
18%
Captures nothing along the line
15.4%
Most valuable capture: pawn
13.6%
Most valuable capture: rook
6.4%

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)
20%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
17.5%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
39.8%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
14.7%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
8%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
43.6%
21–27 pieces
56.4%
13–20 pieces
0%
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: a4 (13.4%), h7 (11.1%), f7 (6.3%), c6 (5.7%), b5 (5.6%).

1.13.58
4.21.91.56.31.611.17
5.73.91.44.56
5.64.22.81.12.75
13.41.314.82.34
13
12
1
abcdefgh

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

Study positions

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

♜♝♛♚♜
♟♟♟♞♟♟
♞♝♕
♗♙
♘
♙♙♙♙♙
♔♖♗♘♖
Black to move · rating 958 · solved 1,771 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxd4

Solution: Bg5+ → Qxg5 → Qxg5+

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

Opponent's last move: Rc8

Solution: Nxf6+ → Qxf6 → Qh7#

♜♛♚♝♞♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♝
♟♙
♙♘
♙♙♙♙♙♙
♖♗♕♔♗♖
Black to move · rating 1141 · solved 1,836 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxd4

Solution: Bb4+ → Bd2 → Qxd4

♜♝♚♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♞♟♞
♛♟
♝♙
♙♙♘♙♘
♗♙♙♙
♖♕♔♗♖
Black to move · rating 1328 · solved 1,394 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nc3

Solution: Bxc3 → b4 → Bxd2+

♜♝♚♞♜
♟♟♟♟♟♟
♟
♝♛
♗
♙♙♘♙♙♙
♖♕♔♗♖
White to move · rating 1395 · solved 1,413 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bb4

Solution: Qa4+ → Bd7 → Qxb4 → Qxb4 → Bxb4

♜♝♜♚
♟♟♝♟♟♟
♘♟♞
♗
♘♛♙
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♗♖♔
White to move · rating 1414 · solved 1,650 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxd3

Solution: Nxe7+ → Kh8 → Bxd3

♜♝♚♝♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♟♙♞
♗
♛♙
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♘♗♔♘♖
White to move · rating 1584 · solved 1,297 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxd4

Solution: cxb7+ → axb5 → bxa8=Q → Qxe4+ → Qxe4

♜♞♝♛♚♜
♟♟♟♟♟♟
♞
♙
♝♟
♘♙
♙♙♙♙
♖♗♕♔♗♘♖
White to move · rating 1610 · solved 1,324 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bb4

Solution: Qa4+ → Nc6 → dxc6 → Bxc3+ → bxc3

♜♛♚♜
♟♟♟♝♟♟♟
♞♞
♙
♙♙♟♙♝
♙♘♙
♘♙♙
♖♗♕♔♗♖
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#

♜♞♚♜
♟♛♟♝♟
♝♟
♗♘
♙
♙
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♔♘♖
White to move · rating 1715 · solved 913 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qd7

Solution: Rc8#

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

Opponent's last move: Nxd5

Solution: Qh4+ → g3 → Qxg3#

♜♚♝♜
♟♝♟♟♟♟
♟
♘♟♛
♕♞
♘
♙♙♗♙♙♙
♖♗♔♖
Black to move · rating 2229 · solved 330 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nf3

Solution: Qxe2+ → Kxe2 → Bxb5+ → Qxb5+ → axb5

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 tacticsCheckmateFork

Same theme, other levels

Opening tactics puzzles by difficulty

Advanced levelFoundation levelChallenging levelDeveloping level