How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine
What a typical mate in 4 solution looks like
Sample: 1,404 mate in 4 puzzles (4.9% of all 28,612).
100% need 4 solver moves. Median rating: 1713 for the shortest solutions, 1713 for the longest.
42.2% open with a queen move. The first move captures in 40.9% and gives check in 95.1%; 100% end in checkmate, 60.1% involve a sacrifice, 53.4% have White to move.
40.9%first move captures
95.1%first move gives check
100%end in checkmate
60.1%involve a sacrifice
How many moves does the solver need?
4 solver moves
100% · median rating 1713
Which piece plays the key move?
Key move by a queen
42.2%
Key move by a rook
32.5%
Key move by a bishop
8.9%
Key move by a knight
8.8%
Key move by a pawn
6.7%
Key move by the king
1%
What does the solver win?
Most valuable capture: rook
31.7%
Most valuable capture: queen
20.6%
Most valuable capture: pawn
16.9%
Captures nothing along the line
13.3%
Most valuable capture: bishop
12.4%
Most valuable capture: knight
5.1%
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)
44.4%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
17.6%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
12.2%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
17.9%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
7.9%
How much is left on the board?
28 or more pieces on the board
1.4%
21–27 pieces
26.3%
13–20 pieces
67.2%
12 pieces or fewer
5.1%
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 1,404 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 (15.2%), h7 (9.8%), g7 (7.2%), g6 (5.4%), h8 (5.3%).
2.4
2.2
2
3.1
4.3
3.3
2.5
5.3
8
1.1
1.6
3.1
15.2
7.2
9.8
7
1.2
1.4
2.1
2.5
5.4
3.5
6
1.1
2
2.1
5
1.9
1.1
4
3
2
1
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Counted from the same 1,404-puzzle sample. Squares under 1% are left blank.
In the chess glossary
What the glossary says
Forced mate
A sequence of two or more moves culminating in checkmate that the opponent cannot prevent.
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 mate in 4 puzzles, from each difficulty level. Play each one on the board, then open the answer for the full line.
♜
♚
♟
♟
♟
♝
♟
♟
♛
♙
♗
♖
♙
♖
♙
♔
White to move · rating 975 · solved 2,380 times
· Mate in 4. It ends in checkmate on h4 with the rook. The solver captures 2 pieces (rook, bishop).Reveal line
Black to move · rating 1450 · solved 3,323 times
· Mate in 4. It ends in checkmate on b1 with the queen. The solver captures 2 pieces (rook, pawn).Reveal line
White to move · rating 1493 · solved 4,937 times
· Mate in 4. It ends in checkmate on f8 with the rook. It gives up the queen (Qxc8+) on the way. The solver captures 2 pieces (rook, bishop).Reveal line
White to move · rating 1537 · solved 3,878 times
· Mate in 4. It ends in checkmate on f8 with the rook. It gives up the queen (Qxf7+) on the way. The solver captures 3 pieces (pawn, rook, rook).Reveal line
Black to move · rating 1625 · solved 3,187 times
· Mate in 4. It ends in checkmate on g2 with the queen. It gives up the rook (Rh1+) on the way.Reveal line
White to move · rating 1625 · solved 2,914 times
· Mate in 4. It ends in checkmate on f7 with the queen. It gives up the rook (Rxf7+) on the way. The solver captures 2 pieces (pawn, knight).Reveal line
White to move · rating 1841 · solved 2,800 times
· Mate in 4. It ends in checkmate on h4 with the rook. It gives up the queen (Qxh7+) on the way. The solver captures 2 pieces (pawn, queen).Reveal line
Black to move · rating 2058 · solved 674 times
· Mate in 4. It ends in checkmate on f1 with the rook. It gives up the rook (Rh1+) and the knight (Nf2+) on the way. The solver captures 2 pieces (rook, rook).Reveal line
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