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Kingside attack Puzzles from the Sicilian Defence

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1066 · solved 45,751,030 times

Opening: Sicilian Defence

These kingside attack puzzles were set in games that began as the Sicilian Defence: 32,650 puzzles, median rating 1066, solved 45,751,030 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 kingside attack puzzles Print a worksheet About the Sicilian Defence

By the numbers

kingside attack puzzles from Sicilian Defence games: the numbers

There are 32,650 kingside attack puzzles from Sicilian Defence games, solved 45,751,030 times in total. The median rating is 1066.

How hard are they?

Foundation
19,840 · 60.8%
Developing
6,050 · 18.5%
Challenging
3,823 · 11.7%
Advanced
2,937 · 9%

Often combined with

Middlegame tactics · 27,187Checkmate · 21,332Mate in 1 · 14,976Opening tactics · 5,337Mate in 2 · 5,187Sacrifice · 4,045Discovered attack · 3,576Attraction · 2,045

Which openings produce them?

Sicilian Defence · 32,650

Counts computed from the full puzzle set.

How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine

What a typical kingside attack solution looks like

Sample: 2,000 kingside attack puzzles from Sicilian Defence games (6.1% of all 32,650).

44.5% need 1 solver move, 37.2% need 2 solver moves, 14.2% need 3 solver moves, 3.3% need 4 solver moves, 0.9% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 746 for the shortest solutions, 2194 for the longest.

58.5% open with a queen move. The first move captures in 79% and gives check in 90.4%; 65.5% end in checkmate, 27.2% involve a sacrifice, 58.1% have White to move.

79%first move captures
90.4%first move gives check
65.5%end in checkmate
27.2%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

1 solver move
44.5% · median rating 746
2 solver moves
37.2% · median rating 1226
3 solver moves
14.2% · median rating 1741
4 solver moves
3.3% · median rating 2046
5+ solver moves
0.9% · median rating 2194

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a queen
58.5%
Key move by a knight
20.4%
Key move by a bishop
12.2%
Key move by a rook
7.2%
Key move by a pawn
1.7%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: pawn
52.2%
Most valuable capture: queen
16.6%
Most valuable capture: rook
10.6%
Most valuable capture: knight
8.6%
Most valuable capture: bishop
7%
Captures nothing along the line
5%

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)
18.2%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
50.2%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
13.8%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
14.2%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
3.6%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
19%
21–27 pieces
78.8%
13–20 pieces
2.1%
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 (32.9%), g7 (18.8%), f6 (11.9%), f7 (5.8%), e8 (4.7%).

1.44.72.78
2.75.818.832.97
2.411.93.62.86
21.415
4
3
2
1
abcdefgh

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

Study positions

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

♜♝♜♚
♟♟♟♝♟
♛♟
♗
♞
♘
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♗♕♖♔
White to move · rating 1040 · solved 2,355 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nb4

Solution: Bxf7+ → Rxf7 → Qxd6

♜♜♚
♟♛♟♟♟
♝♝♟
♟♗
♞
♙♘♙
♙♙♗♙♙
♖♕♖♔
Black to move · rating 1091 · solved 3,153 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: h3

Solution: Bh2+ → Nxh2 → Qxh2#

♜♝♛♜♚
♟♟♟♟
♝♟♞♞
♘
♘♕
♙
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♗♖♔
White to move · rating 1174 · solved 2,277 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Ng6

Solution: Nxf6+ → gxf6 → Qh7#

♜♝♛♝♚♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♞♞♟♙
♟♘
♙♕
♙♙♙♙♙♙
♖♘♗♔♖
White to move · rating 1244 · solved 2,412 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nc6

Solution: Qf7+ → Qxf7 → exf7#

♜♞♝♛♝♚♜
♟♟♟
♟♞♟♙♟
♘
♙
♕
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♘♗♔♖
White to move · rating 1279 · solved 2,699 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qe8

Solution: Qf7+ → Qxf7 → exf7#

♜♝♚♝♜
♟♟♟
♛♟
♟♗♟
♙♞♘♞
♙♘♙
♙♙♗♙♙
♖♕♖♔
Black to move · rating 1347 · solved 3,161 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Ne4

Solution: Nxf3+ → gxf3 → Qh2#

♜♝♛♜♚
♟♟♟♟
♟♕♟♟
♞
♗
♗
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♖♔
White to move · rating 1366 · solved 2,999 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nf5

Solution: Bxe6+ → dxe6 → Qxd8 → Rxd8 → Rxd8+

♜♜♚
♝♝♟♟♟
♟♛♞♘♟
♟♙♟
♕♙♞
♙♘♗
♙♙♙♙
♖♗♖♔
Black to move · rating 1668 · solved 1,075 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qe4

Solution: Qg1+ → Rxg1 → Nf2#

♜♞♝♜♚
♛♟♟♟
♟♟
♟♟♕
♝♙
♘♗♘
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♖♔
White to move · rating 1671 · solved 2,154 times · 4 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qe7

Solution: Bxh7+ → Kxh7 → Qh5+ → Kg8 → Ng5 → Qxg5 → Qxg5

♜♛♜♚
♟♟♞♟♟
♝♖
♗♞
♕
♙♙♙♙♙♙
♖♘♗♔
Black to move · rating 1689 · solved 1,150 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxd4

Solution: Nf3+ → gxf3 → Bxh2+ → Kxh2 → Qxd4

♜♛♜♚
♟♝♟♟
♟♟♝♞
♘
♙
♙♕
♙♙♙♙
♖♗♖♔
White to move · rating 2011 · solved 763 times · Mate in 3.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxg6

Solution: Qh3+ → Nh4 → Qxh4+ → Kg8 → Qh7#

♜♞♝♛♜♚
♟♟♟♝♟
♞♟
♟♙♙
♙
♙♙
♗♙♙♙
♖♘♕♔♖
White to move · rating 2236 · solved 613 times · Mate in 5.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kg8

Solution: Rh8+ → Kxh8 → Qh5+ → Kg8 → g6 → Rf5 → Qh7+ → Kf8 → Qh8#

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 Sicilian Defence

Middlegame tacticsCheckmateMate in 1Opening tacticsForkDiscovered attackPinMate in 2SacrificeHanging pieceAttractionTrapped piece

Same theme, other levels

Kingside attack puzzles by difficulty

Advanced levelChallenging levelFoundation levelDeveloping level