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Checkmate Puzzles from the Scandinavian Defense

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 946 · solved 21,360,955 times

Opening: Scandinavian Defense

These checkmate puzzles were set in games that began as the Scandinavian Defense: 21,753 puzzles, median rating 946, solved 21,360,955 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 Scandinavian Defense

By the numbers

checkmate puzzles from Scandinavian Defense games: the numbers

There are 21,753 checkmate puzzles from Scandinavian Defense games, solved 21,360,955 times in total. The median rating is 946.

How hard are they?

Foundation
16,971 · 78%
Developing
3,562 · 16.4%
Challenging
980 · 4.5%
Advanced
240 · 1.1%

Often combined with

Middlegame tactics · 16,515Mate in 1 · 15,879Kingside attack · 7,240Mate in 2 · 4,895Opening tactics · 4,665Queenside attack · 2,096Sacrifice · 1,360Attacks on f2 / f7 · 1,145Back-rank mate · 923Mate in 3 · 820

Which openings produce them?

Scandinavian Defense · 21,753

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 Scandinavian Defense games (9.2% of all 21,753).

71.8% need 1 solver move, 22.8% need 2 solver moves, 4.8% need 3 solver moves, 0.6% need 4 solver moves. Median rating: 883 for the shortest solutions, 1910 for the longest.

65.5% open with a queen move. The first move captures in 49.2% and gives check in 99.8%; 100% end in checkmate, 9.8% involve a sacrifice, 46.4% have White to move.

49.2%first move captures
99.8%first move gives check
100%end in checkmate
9.8%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

1 solver move
71.8% · median rating 883
2 solver moves
22.8% · median rating 1129
3 solver moves
4.8% · median rating 1331
4 solver moves
0.6% · median rating 1910

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a queen
65.5%
Key move by a knight
12.4%
Key move by a rook
11.2%
Key move by a bishop
10.2%
Key move by a pawn
0.6%

What does the solver win?

Captures nothing along the line
40.5%
Most valuable capture: pawn
37.6%
Most valuable capture: rook
9.9%
Most valuable capture: knight
6.2%
Most valuable capture: bishop
2.9%
Most valuable capture: queen
2.9%

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)
47.9%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
37.4%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
5.6%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
7.4%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
1.7%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
17.2%
21–27 pieces
76.3%
13–20 pieces
6.5%
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 (25.8%), f7 (11.8%), d8 (8.8%), g7 (8.3%), e8 (5.2%).

1.51.58.85.21.21.88
21.43.42.42.111.88.325.87
2.81.22.41.54.91.71.66
5
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 920 · solved 2,218 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxg4

Solution: Qh2#

♜♝♛♜♚
♟♟♟♞♟
♝♟♞♟
♘
♙
♘♗♕♙
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♖♔
White to move · rating 926 · solved 1,736 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kh8

Solution: Nxf7#

♚♜♝♞♜
♟♟♟♝♟♟♟♟
♛
♞♙
♘♙♙
♙♙♙♗♘♙
♖♕♔♗♖
Black to move · rating 1195 · solved 1,963 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bd2

Solution: Nf3#

♜♚♜
♟♖♟♟♟
♞♟♝
♗♟♕
♙♙♙♙♙
♔♘
Black to move · rating 1221 · solved 4,867 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxe1

Solution: Rd1+ → Bc1 → Rxc1#

♜♝♚♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♞♟♞
♛♘
♘
♙♙♙♕♙♙♙
♖♗♔♖
White to move · rating 1221 · solved 2,584 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qd4

Solution: Qe6#

♚♜♜
♗♟♟♟♟
♝
♙
♙
♙♞♖♙♙♙
♔♗♖
Black to move · rating 1295 · solved 2,906 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxa7

Solution: Re1#

♚♜♝♜
♟♟♟♟♟♟
♗♞
♘
♞♟
♙♙
♙♙♙♙
♔♖♗♖
White to move · rating 1458 · solved 2,100 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: dxc4

Solution: Nxa7+ → Kb8 → Rxd8#

♚♜♝♜
♟♟♞♟♟
♟♟♞
♗♛
♗♙♟
♘♕
♙♙♙♙♙♙
♖♖♔
White to move · rating 1660 · solved 1,114 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: g4

Solution: Qxc6+ → bxc6 → Ba6#

♜♜♚
♞♛♟♟
♟♝♟
♟♟♗♙♕
♟♟
♙♙♖
♙♙♙♙
♖♗♔
White to move · rating 1727 · solved 1,618 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: exf4

Solution: Qxh7+ → Kxh7 → Rh3#

♚♜♜
♟♟♞♟♟
♟♟♟
♗♕♗
♙♛♙♙
♙♙♙
♖♝♔
White to move · rating 1853 · solved 1,717 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qc3

Solution: Qxc6+ → bxc6 → Ba6#

♜♚♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♙♟
♗
♘
♙♔♙♙♙
♛♕♗♘♖
Black to move · rating 2046 · solved 381 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qe1

Solution: Qd3#

♜♜♞♚
♟♝♟♟
♛♟♟♝
♟♞♘♗♕
♙♙
♙♗
♙♙♙♙
♖♖♔
White to move · rating 2159 · solved 674 times · Mate in 3.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxf6

Solution: Bxh7+ → Nxh7 → Qf7+ → Kh8 → Ng6#

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 Scandinavian Defense

Middlegame tacticsOpening tacticsFork

Same theme, other levels

Checkmate puzzles by difficulty

Advanced levelChallenging levelDeveloping levelFoundation level