ChessPuzzlePrint Free chess puzzles, tools and printables

Real positions. Quiet practice.

Middlegame tactics Puzzles from the Scotch Game

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1328 · solved 47,534,995 times

Opening: Scotch Game

These middlegame tactics puzzles were set in games that began as the Scotch Game: 25,552 puzzles, median rating 1328, solved 47,534,995 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 middlegame tactics puzzles Print a worksheet About the Scotch Game

By the numbers

middlegame tactics puzzles from Scotch Game games: the numbers

There are 25,552 middlegame tactics puzzles from Scotch Game games, solved 47,534,995 times in total. The median rating is 1328.

How hard are they?

Foundation
10,823 · 42.4%
Developing
6,169 · 24.1%
Challenging
4,908 · 19.2%
Advanced
3,652 · 14.3%

Often combined with

Checkmate · 9,466Mate in 1 · 6,409Kingside attack · 5,301Fork · 3,116Mate in 2 · 2,392Discovered attack · 2,177Pin · 2,145Sacrifice · 1,963Hanging piece · 1,213

Which openings produce them?

Scotch Game · 25,552

Counts computed from the full puzzle set.

How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine

What a typical middlegame tactics solution looks like

Sample: 2,000 middlegame tactics puzzles from Scotch Game games (7.8% of all 25,552).

25.4% need 1 solver move, 50.6% need 2 solver moves, 20.6% need 3 solver moves, 2.6% need 4 solver moves, 0.9% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 887 for the shortest solutions, 2380 for the longest.

39.7% open with a queen move. The first move captures in 48.8% and gives check in 62%; 37.2% end in checkmate, 23.7% involve a sacrifice, 56.4% have White to move.

48.8%first move captures
62%first move gives check
37.2%end in checkmate
23.7%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

1 solver move
25.4% · median rating 887
2 solver moves
50.6% · median rating 1395
3 solver moves
20.6% · median rating 1776
4 solver moves
2.6% · median rating 1996
5+ solver moves
0.9% · median rating 2380

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a queen
39.7%
Key move by a bishop
20.4%
Key move by a knight
16.8%
Key move by a rook
15%
Key move by a pawn
6.4%
Key move by the king
1.6%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: queen
32%
Captures nothing along the line
17.6%
Most valuable capture: rook
15.9%
Most valuable capture: pawn
15.2%
Most valuable capture: bishop
10.6%
Most valuable capture: knight
8.8%

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)
24.8%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
19.9%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
23.8%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
21.8%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
9.6%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
6%
21–27 pieces
88.1%
13–20 pieces
5.9%
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 (7.7%), h7 (7.4%), f6 (5.7%), e8 (5.6%), g7 (5%).

14.95.61.68
1.21.514.47.757.47
1.22.12.23.25.71.81.76
1.61.23.42.62.13.11.35
1.62.21.91.42.114
1.43
2
1.11
abcdefgh

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

Study positions

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

♜♝♚♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♞♛
♝♗
♘
♕
♙♙♙♙
♔
White to move · rating 914 · solved 2,225 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxg5

Solution: Qf7#

♝♜♚
♟♟♟♟
♟
♜♛
♗♕
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♖♔
White to move · rating 1124 · solved 1,863 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qh5

Solution: Qxd8#

♜♜
♟♟♟♚♟♟
♙
♛
♕♝
♘
♙♙♔♝♙♙
♖♗♖
White to move · rating 1161 · solved 1,890 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kd7

Solution: Qe7+ → Kc6 → Qxc7#

♜♝♛♚
♟♟♟♟♟♟
♝♟
♜
♘
♗♙♕
♙♙♙♙
♖♖♔
White to move · rating 1289 · solved 2,450 times · Mate in 3.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rxe5

Solution: Qxf7+ → Kh8 → Qf8+ → Qxf8 → Rxf8#

♜♝♚
♟♟♜♟♟
♟♟♛♟
♗
♙♝♙
♙♙♕♙♙♙
♖♗♖♔
Black to move · rating 1292 · solved 5,090 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bd5

Solution: Qxd5 → exd5 → Rxe2

♜♛♜♚
♟♝♝♟♟♟
♟
♟♟♙
♘
♗♕♙
♙♙♙♗♙♙
♖♖♔
Black to move · rating 1309 · solved 3,671 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxe4

Solution: dxe4 → Bxe4 → Bxe4 → Qxe4 → Qxd2

♜♛♜♚
♟♝♟
♟♟♟
♟♖
♝♙
♕♙
♙♙♙♙♙
♔♖
White to move · rating 1555 · solved 2,917 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: gxh6

Solution: Qxh6 → Bg5+ → Rxg5+ → Qxg5+ → Qxg5+

♜♚
♕♞♟♟
♜♟♛♟
♟♘
♟♙
♙
♙♙♙♙♙
♔♖♖
Black to move · rating 1627 · solved 1,546 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nc5

Solution: Qg5+ → f4 → Qxc5

♜♛♜
♟♟♟♚♟♟
♝♟
♙
♕♙
♙♗♙♙
♖♖♔
White to move · rating 1667 · solved 1,621 times · Mate in 1.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kd7

Solution: Qg4#

♜♝♚
♟♟♟♜♟♟♟
♗
♙
♕
♙♙♙♙
♛♘♖♔
White to move · rating 1707 · solved 1,637 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rxe7

Solution: Qxf7+ → Rxf7 → Re8#

♜♚♜
♟♟♟
♟♛♟♟
♟♕
♔
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♘♖
Black to move · rating 2051 · solved 329 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qg4

Solution: Rb8+ → Kc4 → Qb4+ → Kd3 → Qxe1

♜♝♜♚
♟♟♟♟♟♟♟
♛
♝♘♗
♞♕
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♖♔
White to move · rating 2121 · solved 310 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxc4

Solution: Nf6+ → gxf6 → Bxf6 → Qxf6 → Qxf6

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 Scotch Game

Opening tactics

Same theme, other levels

Middlegame tactics puzzles by difficulty

Advanced levelFoundation levelChallenging levelDeveloping level