ChessPuzzlePrint Free chess puzzles, tools and printables

Real positions. Quiet practice.

Opening tactics Puzzles from the Ruy Lopez

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1361 · solved 17,853,483 times

Opening: Ruy Lopez

These opening tactics puzzles were set in games that began as the Ruy Lopez: 7,484 puzzles, median rating 1361, solved 17,853,483 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 Ruy Lopez

By the numbers

opening tactics puzzles from Ruy Lopez games: the numbers

There are 7,484 opening tactics puzzles from Ruy Lopez games, solved 17,853,483 times in total. The median rating is 1361.

How hard are they?

Foundation
2,913 · 38.9%
Developing
2,077 · 27.8%
Challenging
1,506 · 20.1%
Advanced
988 · 13.2%

Often combined with

Checkmate · 2,324Mate in 1 · 1,853Kingside attack · 1,410Fork · 1,090Discovered attack · 528Attacks on f2 / f7 · 501Pin · 426Hanging piece · 402Mate in 2 · 379

Which openings produce them?

Ruy Lopez · 7,484

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 Ruy Lopez games (26.7% of all 7,484).

24.2% need 1 solver move, 53% need 2 solver moves, 19% need 3 solver moves, 3.5% need 4 solver moves. Median rating: 859 for the shortest solutions, 2023 for the longest.

42% open with a queen move. The first move captures in 57.6% and gives check in 54.7%; 30.4% end in checkmate, 17.2% involve a sacrifice, 54.6% have White to move.

57.6%first move captures
54.7%first move gives check
30.4%end in checkmate
17.2%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

1 solver move
24.2% · median rating 859
2 solver moves
53% · median rating 1400
3 solver moves
19% · median rating 1755
4 solver moves
3.5% · median rating 2023

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a queen
42%
Key move by a bishop
20.9%
Key move by a knight
19.8%
Key move by a pawn
10.6%
Key move by a rook
4.6%
Key move by the king
2%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: queen
24.7%
Most valuable capture: pawn
20.2%
Most valuable capture: knight
17.4%
Most valuable capture: bishop
14.4%
Captures nothing along the line
13.5%
Most valuable capture: rook
9.7%

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)
20.4%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
25%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
32.2%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
15.7%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
6.7%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
52.9%
21–27 pieces
47.1%
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: f7 (15%), h7 (10.5%), f6 (6.2%), d5 (5.2%), h5 (4.7%).

2.71.88
2.6152.310.57
31.66.21.51.56
1.55.24.114.14.75
1.712.52.741.41.84
1.51.13
1.62
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 617 · solved 2,039 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxf3

Solution: Qxc7#

♜♝♚♞♜
♟♟♟♟♟♟♟
♛
♝♘
♙♗♙
♙♞♙♙♙♙
♖♘♗♕♔♖
Black to move · rating 651 · solved 1,941 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kf1

Solution: Qxf2#

♜♝♚♝♞♜
♟♟♟♟♟♟♟
♙♛
♗♟
♕
♙♙♙♙♙♙
♖♘♖♔
White to move · rating 872 · solved 2,134 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxg5

Solution: Qxf7+ → Kd8 → Qxf8#

♜♛♚♜
♝♟♟♞♟♟
♟♞♝
♟♘
♙♙
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♘♗♕♔♖
White to move · rating 1462 · solved 1,231 times · Mate in 3.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kg8

Solution: Qb3+ → Nd5 → Qxd5+ → Kf8 → Qf7#

♚♜♞♜
♟♟♟♝♟
♟♟♟
♛
♝♘
♙♙
♙♙♙♕♙♙
♖♗♔♖
White to move · rating 1499 · solved 1,978 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxc4

Solution: Nd6+ → cxd6 → Qxe8+ → Kc7 → dxc4

♜♝♚♞♜
♟♟♘♟♟♟
♟
♝♛
♟♙♕
♗
♙♙♙♙♙♙♙
♖♗♔♖
Black to move · rating 1552 · solved 1,151 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxc7+

Solution: Kd8 → Qf3 → Kxc7

♜♝♛♜♚
♟♟♟♟♟
♝♞
♘♕
♗♟
♙
♙♙♙♙
♖♗♖♔
White to move · rating 1555 · solved 1,075 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kh8

Solution: Ng6#

♜♝♚♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♙♟
♞♛
♘♗
♙♙♙♙♙♙
♖♗♕♖♔
Black to move · rating 1613 · solved 1,199 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kf1

Solution: Qxf2#

♜♝♜♚
♟♟♟♟
♟
♙♙♞♛
♗♙♕
♙♙♝
♖♘♗♖♔
White to move · rating 1740 · solved 1,082 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qh4

Solution: Qxf7+ → Rxf7 → Re8#

♜♝♛♝♜
♟♚♟
♟♟
♞♟♙
♙♘
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♗♕♖♔
White to move · rating 1780 · solved 1,000 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kf7

Solution: Qf3+ → Kg8 → Qxa8

♜♝♛♝
♟♟♚♜
♟♞♟♞
♟♕
♟
♗
♙♙♙♙♙♙
♖♘♗♖♔
White to move · rating 2224 · solved 140 times · 4 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qe8

Solution: Re1+ → Ne5 → Rxe5+ → fxe5 → Bg5+ → Kd6 → Qxe8

♜♛♜♚
♝♟♞♝♟♟♟
♟
♟♟♙♖
♙
♙♙♗♙♙♙
♖♘♗♕♔
White to move · rating 2420 · solved 269 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nd7

Solution: Rxg7+ → Kxg7 → Qg4+ → Bg5 → Bxg5

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 Ruy Lopez

Middlegame tactics

Same theme, other levels

Opening tactics puzzles by difficulty

Advanced levelFoundation levelChallenging levelDeveloping level