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Sacrifice Puzzles from the Sicilian Defence

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1810 · solved 37,081,044 times

Opening: Sicilian Defence

These sacrifice puzzles were set in games that began as the Sicilian Defence: 12,152 puzzles, median rating 1810, solved 37,081,044 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 sacrifice puzzles Print a worksheet About the Sicilian Defence

By the numbers

sacrifice puzzles from Sicilian Defence games: the numbers

There are 12,152 sacrifice puzzles from Sicilian Defence games, solved 37,081,044 times in total. The median rating is 1810.

How hard are they?

Foundation
1,269 · 10.4%
Developing
2,637 · 21.7%
Challenging
3,923 · 32.3%
Advanced
4,323 · 35.6%

Often combined with

Middlegame tactics · 10,111Kingside attack · 4,045Checkmate · 3,805Attraction · 3,637Fork · 2,424Mate in 2 · 2,201Opening tactics · 1,949Mate in 3 · 1,359Pin · 1,350

Which openings produce them?

Sicilian Defence · 12,152

Counts computed from the full puzzle set.

How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine

What a typical sacrifice solution looks like

Sample: 2,000 sacrifice puzzles from Sicilian Defence games (16.5% of all 12,152).

32.4% need 2 solver moves, 50.8% need 3 solver moves, 12.6% need 4 solver moves, 4.1% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 1608 for the shortest solutions, 2429 for the longest.

30.4% open with a queen move. The first move captures in 61.1% and gives check in 59.8%; 32% end in checkmate, 85.6% involve a sacrifice, 69.6% have White to move.

61.1%first move captures
59.8%first move gives check
32%end in checkmate
85.6%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

2 solver moves
32.4% · median rating 1608
3 solver moves
50.8% · median rating 1789
4 solver moves
12.6% · median rating 2135
5+ solver moves
4.1% · median rating 2429

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a queen
30.4%
Key move by a knight
27%
Key move by a rook
21.1%
Key move by a bishop
17.5%
Key move by a pawn
3.1%
Key move by the king
0.9%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: queen
31.8%
Most valuable capture: pawn
25.8%
Most valuable capture: rook
13.4%
Most valuable capture: bishop
10.2%
Most valuable capture: knight
9.6%
Captures nothing along the line
9.2%

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)
60.3%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
8.4%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
17.8%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
13.4%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
0.1%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
17.8%
21–27 pieces
77.8%
13–20 pieces
4.4%
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 (10.9%), f6 (10.4%), f7 (10.3%), d5 (5.7%), g6 (4.7%).

2.31.91.81.61.51.68
1.222.32.910.34.410.97
2.91.13.310.44.73.76
2.15.72.82.11.91.15
1.41.21.34
3
2
1
abcdefgh

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

Study positions

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

♜♜♚
♝♟♛♟♟♟
♟♟
♟♙♕
♙♙♘♞
♙♗
♙♙♙
♖♖♔
White to move · rating 1047 · solved 1,649 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nf4

Solution: Nf6+ → gxf6 → Qxh7#

♜♜♚
♟♟♛♟♟♟
♟
♘
♝♞♙♘
♕♙
♙♙♙♙
♔♖♖
White to move · rating 1088 · solved 1,599 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nb4

Solution: Nf6+ → gxf6 → Qxh7#

♜♚♜
♟♟♟♟
♕♝♟
♝♛♞
♗
♙
♙♙♙♙
♖♘♗♖♔
Black to move · rating 1152 · solved 1,546 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Be4

Solution: Ng3+ → hxg3 → Qh5#

♜♜♚
♟♟♝♟♟♟
♛♞
♘♗♙
♙
♙♗♙♙♞♙♔
♖♕♖
Black to move · rating 1317 · solved 2,737 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kh2

Solution: Ng4+ → hxg4 → Qh6#

♜♜♚
♟♟♛♟♟♟
♟
♞♗
♙♙♙
♙♙♙♕♙
♖♖♔
Black to move · rating 1357 · solved 1,840 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxe4

Solution: Qxe4 → dxe4 → Nf3+ → Kg2 → Nxd2

♜♚♜
♟♟♟♟
♟♟
♙
♝
♞♕♙♗
♙♛♘♙♙
♖♖♔
White to move · rating 1450 · solved 1,577 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rd8

Solution: Qxd8+ → Kxd8 → Nc4+ → Kc7 → Nxb2

♜♛♚♝♜
♟♟♞♟♟♟
♟
♗♟♞
♝
♙♙♘
♙♙♙♙
♖♘♗♕♔♖
White to move · rating 1469 · solved 2,064 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nfd7

Solution: Nxe5 → Bxd1 → Bxd7+ → Qxd7 → Nxd7

♜♜♚
♝♝♟♟♟
♟♛♞♘♟
♟♙♟
♕♙♞
♙♘♗
♙♙♙♙
♖♗♖♔
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

♜♘♜
♟♟♕♟♟
♚♟
♟♙
♞♞♙♛
♘♙
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♗♖♔
Black to move · rating 2027 · solved 554 times · 4 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: d3

Solution: Ne2+ → Kh1 → N4g3+ → hxg3 → Qh5+ → Qh4 → Nxg3+

♜♞♝♛♜♚
♟♟♟♝♟
♞♟
♟♙♙
♙
♙♙
♗♙♙♙
♖♘♕♔♖
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 tacticsKingside attackForkDiscovered attackPinMate in 2Hanging pieceAttractionTrapped piece

Same theme, other levels

Sacrifice puzzles by difficulty

Foundation levelAdvanced levelChallenging levelDeveloping level