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Opening tactics Puzzles from the Queen's Pawn Game

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1291 · solved 36,269,717 times

Opening: Queen's Pawn Game

These opening tactics puzzles were set in games that began as the Queen's Pawn Game: 15,000 puzzles, median rating 1291, solved 36,269,717 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 Pawn Game

By the numbers

opening tactics puzzles from Queen's Pawn Game games: the numbers

There are 15,000 opening tactics puzzles from Queen's Pawn Game games, solved 36,269,717 times in total. The median rating is 1291.

How hard are they?

Foundation
6,420 · 42.8%
Developing
4,440 · 29.6%
Challenging
2,762 · 18.4%
Advanced
1,378 · 9.2%

Often combined with

Checkmate · 4,939Mate in 1 · 3,976Fork · 2,638Kingside attack · 1,914Discovered attack · 900Hanging piece · 816Mate in 2 · 815Attacks on f2 / f7 · 722

Which openings produce them?

Queen's Pawn Game · 15,000

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 Pawn Game games (13.3% of all 15,000).

27.1% need 1 solver move, 51.6% need 2 solver moves, 18.9% need 3 solver moves, 1.9% need 4 solver moves, 0.6% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 849 for the shortest solutions, 2332 for the longest.

43.5% open with a queen move. The first move captures in 50.8% and gives check in 61%; 33% end in checkmate, 17.2% involve a sacrifice, 53.9% have White to move.

50.8%first move captures
61%first move gives check
33%end in checkmate
17.2%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

1 solver move
27.1% · median rating 849
2 solver moves
51.6% · median rating 1314
3 solver moves
18.9% · median rating 1689
4 solver moves
1.9% · median rating 2028
5+ solver moves
0.6% · median rating 2332

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a queen
43.5%
Key move by a bishop
21.7%
Key move by a knight
20.3%
Key move by a pawn
8.6%
Key move by a rook
3.6%
Key move by the king
2.2%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: queen
23.2%
Most valuable capture: bishop
17.6%
Most valuable capture: pawn
17.4%
Most valuable capture: knight
17.2%
Captures nothing along the line
16.9%
Most valuable capture: rook
7.8%

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)
22.5%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
21.4%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
33.8%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
16%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
6.4%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
67.2%
21–27 pieces
32.8%
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: h7 (11.6%), h5 (10%), f7 (8.2%), a4 (7.5%), b5 (5.7%).

1.12.58
2.61.58.21.411.67
13.82.51.15.13.36
5.71.74.41.2105
7.51.42.33.21.24
1.21.33
1.52
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.

♚♜♝♞♜
♟♟♛♟♟
♝♟
♙♟♟
♞♙
♘♙♗
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♕♔♘♖
White to move · rating 804 · solved 2,937 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nb4

Solution: Ra8#

♜♝♛♚♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♟
♞♟
♝♞
♙♘♕♙♘
♙♗♙♙♙♙
♖♔♗♖
White to move · rating 1073 · solved 2,307 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Ndxc5

Solution: Qb5+ → Bd7 → Qxb4

♜♝♝♞♜
♟♟♘♚♟♟
♞♟
♟
♗
♗
♙♙♙♙♙
♔♖♘♖
White to move · rating 1097 · solved 2,617 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rb8

Solution: Bc5#

♜♞♛♚♞♜
♟♟♟♟♝
♝
♟♘♟♟
♙
♙
♙♙♙♗♙♙♙
♖♘♕♔♖
White to move · rating 1427 · solved 3,298 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bg7

Solution: Bxh5+ → Rxh5 → Qxh5+

♜♞♝♛♜♝
♟♟♚
♟♞♙
♟
♟♙
♘♕♙
♙♙♙♗
♖♔♘♖
White to move · rating 1451 · solved 3,665 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: dxe4

Solution: Nxe4 → Nxe4 → Qxe4+ → Bf5 → gxf5

♜♛♚♜
♟♟♞♟♝
♟♟♟
♞♟♟
♙♙
♘♙
♙♙♙♕♗♗♙
♔♖♘♖
Black to move · rating 1538 · solved 2,878 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bf2

Solution: Bh6 → Qxh6 → Rxh6

♜♝♛♚
♟♟♟♟
♞♟♞♝♟
♙
♙
♘
♙♙♙♕♗♙
♔♖♘♖
Black to move · rating 1586 · solved 3,471 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: f5

Solution: Bg5 → Qxg5 → Nxg5

♜♝♚♜
♟♟♞♟♟
♞♟♟
♝
♘♙♗
♕
♛♙♙♙♙♙
♔♖♗♘♖
White to move · rating 1703 · solved 1,813 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxa2

Solution: Qd8+ → Nxd8 → Rxd8#

♜♛♚♜
♟♝♞♟♟
♟♞♘♟♝
♟♟
♙
♘
♙♙♙♕♙♙♙
♔♖♗♖
White to move · rating 1711 · solved 1,039 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kf8

Solution: Qxh6#

♜♛♚♝♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♞
♘♞♝
♕♗♟
♙
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♔♘♖
White to move · rating 1959 · solved 900 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxe5

Solution: Nd6+ → Ke7 → Nxf5#

♜♝♚♝♜
♟♟♟♟
♟♛♟
♟♘♕
♞
♗
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♗♖♔
White to move · rating 2039 · solved 562 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxd4

Solution: Nxf7 → g6 → Bxg6

♜♞♜♚
♟♛♟♟♗
♝♟♞♟
♟♟♙
♙♙♘♗
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♕♔♖
Black to move · rating 2474 · solved 589 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxh7+

Solution: Kxh7 → Ng5+ → Kg8 → Qc2 → g6

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 Pawn Game

Middlegame tacticsCheckmateKingside attackFork

Same theme, other levels

Opening tactics puzzles by difficulty

Advanced levelFoundation levelChallenging levelDeveloping level