Real positions. Quiet practice.

Discovered check Chess Puzzles

Real positions from rated games. Narrow them by motif, difficulty or rating, then solve or print each one.

1068 real-game Discovered check puzzles in this collection

What is a discovered check?

A discovered check unmasks a check from a rear piece while the front piece moves anywhere it likes. Because the king must answer the check, the moving piece can often capture or threaten with total impunity.

How to spot it

Whenever a piece of yours stands between your rook, bishop or queen and the enemy king, every square that piece can reach is a candidate for a devastating free move.

What this set trains

Solving these builds the reflex to hunt for masked batteries aimed at the king — one of the most forcing weapons in chess.

Foundation: 138Developing: 217Challenging: 209Advanced: 504

Print a 12-puzzle worksheet Build your own discovered check worksheet

Go deeper

Discovered check puzzles by level and by opening

Foundation level Advanced level Challenging level Developing level

By the numbers

discovered check puzzles: the numbers

There are 108,801 discovered check puzzles, solved 295,719,576 times in total. The median rating is 1680.

How hard are they?

20,617 · 18.9%

27,595 · 25.4%

29,724 · 27.3%

30,865 · 28.4%

Often combined with

Discovered attack · 80,446 Middlegame tactics · 62,132 Endgame tactics · 41,210 Checkmate · 31,925 Double check · 29,051 Sacrifice · 18,637 Kingside attack · 17,106 Mate in 2 · 15,483 Advanced pawn · 14,341

Which openings produce them?

Sicilian Defence · 3,310 Italian Game · 1,790 French Defence · 1,482 Caro–Kann Defence · 1,055 King's Gambit · 1,035 Queen's Gambit · 1,020 Scandinavian Defense · 1,005

Counts computed from the full puzzle set.

How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine

What a typical discovered check solution looks like

Sample: 5,543 discovered check puzzles (5.1% of all 108,801).

5.6% need 1 solver move, 43.6% need 2 solver moves, 35.4% need 3 solver moves, 10.3% need 4 solver moves, 5.1% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 1276 for the shortest solutions, 2362 for the longest.

27.4% open with a knight move. The first move captures in 32.3% and gives check in 86.1%; 29.3% end in checkmate, 19.2% involve a sacrifice, 53.4% have White to move.

32.3%first move captures

86.1%first move gives check

29.3%end in checkmate

19.2%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

1 solver move

5.6% · median rating 1276

2 solver moves

43.6% · median rating 1446

3 solver moves

35.4% · median rating 1793

4 solver moves

10.3% · median rating 2093

5+ solver moves

5.1% · median rating 2362

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a knight

27.4%

Key move by a pawn

22.7%

Key move by a rook

19%

Key move by a bishop

16.9%

Key move by a queen

11.2%

Key move by the king

2.9%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: queen

27.3%

Captures nothing along the line

22.8%

Most valuable capture: rook

20.9%

Most valuable capture: pawn

14.4%

Most valuable capture: bishop

9.2%

Most valuable capture: knight

5.5%

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)

33.4%

Up to 2 pawns’ worth

14.8%

3–4 points (about a minor piece)

16.3%

5–8 points (a rook or more)

22.3%

9 or more points (a queen’s worth)

13.1%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board

4.3%

21–27 pieces

39.3%

13–20 pieces

47.2%

12 pieces or fewer

9.2%

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 5,543 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: f6 (6.9%), f7 (5.9%), g7 (5.9%), g6 (5.4%), d6 (4.9%).

			1.5	1.8	2.7			8
	1.3	2.1	1.8	3.2	5.9	5.9	3.3	7
	1.3	2.7	4.9	4.8	6.9	5.4	3.9	6
	1.4	2.2	3.1	3.7	3.3	4	1.7	5
		1.3	1.2	1.6	1.8	1.4		4
								3
								2
								1
a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Counted from the same 5,543-puzzle sample. Squares under 1% are left blank.

In the chess glossary

What the glossary says

Discovered check: A discovered attack to the king. This occurs when a player moves a piece, resulting in another piece putting their opponent's king in check.

Where this page comes from

The text above is adapted from “Glossary of chess” on Wikipedia, by its contributors. We kept only the definitions of the terms listed, removed citations, diagrams and navigation templates, and left the wording otherwise unchanged — nothing here was written or rewritten by AI.

The original is published under CC BY-SA 4.0, so this section is published under the same licence. You may share and adapt it, including commercially, as long as you credit the original and keep the same licence.

Puzzle positions, ratings and move sequences on this page come from real rated games (CC0 data), not from Wikipedia; theme write-ups and difficulty guides elsewhere on this site are Chess Puzzle Print's own original work and are not covered by this licence.

Study positions

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

♜
	♟					♟	♚
		♞			♜	♘	♟
		♛	♗	♟
♟		♙	♟	♕	♙
			♙				♙

	♖			♝		♔

White to move · rating 1109 · solved 4,149 times · Mate in 2.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rxf6

Solution: Nf8+ → Kh8 → Qh7#


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

Black to move · rating 1125 · solved 6,891 times · 2 solver moves to find.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxd5

Solution: Nf2+ → Kg1 → Nxd3+

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

White to move · rating 1178 · solved 3,619 times · Mate in 2.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: hxg6

Solution: Nf6+ → Kg7 → Qh7#

		♚	♜		♜
♟	♟	♟		♟
		♝				♝

		♞	♙
	♙	♙		♟	♗
♙		♕			♙	♙
		♔		♖		♖

Black to move · rating 1360 · solved 7,443 times · 3 solver moves to find.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: b3

Solution: e2+ → Kb1 → Na3+ → Kb2 → Nxc2

♜		♝				♚
♟	♟		♟		♟	♟	♟



			♛			♙
♙			♗	♞	♙	♗	♙
♖			♕		♔		♖

Black to move · rating 1365 · solved 6,391 times · 2 solver moves to find.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kf1

Solution: Nc3+ → Kg1 → Nxd1

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

Black to move · rating 1501 · solved 4,493 times · 3 solver moves to find.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bf4

Solution: Rxg2+ → Kh1 → Rg5+ → f3 → Rxh5

♜		♝					♚
♟	♟		♟			♟	♗
				♟	♛
		♙					♕
	♙
♙
			♔
						♝

White to move · rating 1531 · solved 5,933 times · Mate in 4.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qf6

Solution: Bg6+ → Kg8 → Qh7+ → Kf8 → Qh8+ → Ke7 → Qe8#

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

White to move · rating 1625 · solved 2,914 times · Mate in 4.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rg8+

Solution: Ng5+ → Kg7 → Qh7+ → Kf8 → Rxf7+ → Nxf7 → Qxf7#



♖		♘
			♟
♙		♝	♙
		♚
♜
	♔

Black to move · rating 1682 · solved 2,383 times · 3 solver moves to find.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nf6

Solution: Rd2+ → Kc1 → Rd6+ → Kc2 → Rxa6


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

Black to move · rating 1890 · solved 1,199 times · 2 solver moves to find.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxe6

Solution: Nd3+ → Kh1 → Nxe5

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

Black to move · rating 2518 · solved 419 times · 3 solver moves to find.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kxb3

Solution: Bc5+ → Ka4 → Rd4+ → Qxd4 → Bxd4

						♚
		♛		♜
♟		♟			♜	♙	♕
	♟		♞				♙
		♟	♙
♙		♙
	♙		♔
				♖	♖

White to move · rating 2737 · solved 296 times · 6 solver moves to find.

Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rxf6

Solution: Rxe7 → Qxe7 → Re1 → Qd7 → Re8+ → Qxe8 → Qh7+ → Kf8 → g7+ → Ke7 → g8=Q+

Positions and move sequences come from real rated games (CC0 data). Engine evaluations, where shown, are stored evaluations of the position (CC0).

Browse the local collection

24 shown from 1068 matching records.

Showing 24 of 1068 matching records

foundation

Common openings for this theme

The openings this theme's puzzles most often come from, with the full Wikipedia article for each.

Sicilian Defence · 24 Caro–Kann Defence · 18 French Defence · 15 Italian Game · 14 Queen's Pawn Game · 12 Queen's Gambit Declined · 11

More puzzle themes: Advanced pawn · Attacks on f2 / f7 · Attraction · Back-rank mate · Bishop endgame tactics · Capture the defender · Clearance · Defensive move · Deflection · Discovered attack · All themes

			1.5	1.8	2.7			8
	1.3	2.1	1.8	3.2	5.9	5.9	3.3	7
	1.3	2.7	4.9	4.8	6.9	5.4	3.9	6
	1.4	2.2	3.1	3.7	3.3	4	1.7	5
		1.3	1.2	1.6	1.8	1.4		4
								3
								2
								1
a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

♜
	♟					♟	♚
		♞			♜	♘	♟
		♛	♗	♟
♟		♙	♟	♕	♙
			♙				♙

	♖			♝		♔

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

		♚	♜		♜
♟	♟	♟		♟
		♝				♝

		♞	♙
	♙	♙		♟	♗
♙		♕			♙	♙
		♔		♖		♖

♜		♝				♚
♟	♟		♟		♟	♟	♟



			♛			♙
♙			♗	♞	♙	♗	♙
♖			♕		♔		♖

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

			1.5	1.8	2.7			8
	1.3	2.1	1.8	3.2	5.9	5.9	3.3	7
	1.3	2.7	4.9	4.8	6.9	5.4	3.9	6
	1.4	2.2	3.1	3.7	3.3	4	1.7	5
		1.3	1.2	1.6	1.8	1.4		4
								3
								2
								1
a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

♜
	♟					♟	♚
		♞			♜	♘	♟
		♛	♗	♟
♟		♙	♟	♕	♙
			♙				♙

	♖			♝		♔

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

		♚	♜		♜
♟	♟	♟		♟
		♝				♝

		♞	♙
	♙	♙		♟	♗
♙		♕			♙	♙
		♔		♖		♖

♜		♝				♚
♟	♟		♟		♟	♟	♟



			♛			♙
♙			♗	♞	♙	♗	♙
♖			♕		♔		♖

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

			1.5	1.8	2.7			8
	1.3	2.1	1.8	3.2	5.9	5.9	3.3	7
	1.3	2.7	4.9	4.8	6.9	5.4	3.9	6
	1.4	2.2	3.1	3.7	3.3	4	1.7	5
		1.3	1.2	1.6	1.8	1.4		4
								3
								2
								1
a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

♜
	♟					♟	♚
		♞			♜	♘	♟
		♛	♗	♟
♟		♙	♟	♕	♙
			♙				♙

	♖			♝		♔

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

		♚	♜		♜
♟	♟	♟		♟
		♝				♝

		♞	♙
	♙	♙		♟	♗
♙		♕			♙	♙
		♔		♖		♖

♜		♝				♚
♟	♟		♟		♟	♟	♟



			♛			♙
♙			♗	♞	♙	♗	♙
♖			♕		♔		♖

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