Learn chess tactics, one puzzle at a time
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- Checkmate 7 of 7 free puzzles left
- Mate patterns 7 of 7 free puzzles left
- Winning material 7 of 7 free puzzles left
- Tactics 7 of 7 free puzzles left
- Openings 7 of 7 free puzzles left
- Endgames 7 of 7 free puzzles left
- Defence and draws 7 of 7 free puzzles left
- Classic problems 7 of 7 free puzzles left
What to learn
Checkmate
The goal of the game. Start with mate in one with each piece, then mates in two and three.
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Mate in 1 with the queen
One move, and the queen gives checkmate.
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Mate in 1 with the rook
One move, and the rook gives checkmate.
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Mate in 1 with the bishop
One move, and the bishop gives checkmate.
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Mate in 1 with the knight
One move, and the knight gives checkmate.
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Mate in 1 with the pawn
One move, and the pawn gives checkmate.
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Mate in 2 with the queen
Two moves; the last one is a queen mate.
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Mate in 2 with the rook
Two moves; the last one is a rook mate.
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Mate in 2 with the bishop
Two moves; the last one is a bishop mate.
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Mate in 2 with the knight
Two moves; the last one is a knight mate.
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Mate in 2 with the pawn
Two moves; the last one is a pawn mate.
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Mate in 2 with a double check
A double check forces the king to move, then mate follows.
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Mate in 2 with a queen sacrifice
Give up the queen to open the way to mate.
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Mate in 2 with a rook sacrifice
Give up the rook to open the way to mate.
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Mate in 2 with a bishop sacrifice
Give up the bishop to open the way to mate.
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Mate in 2 with a knight sacrifice
Give up the knight to open the way to mate.
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Mate in 3
Three moves to mate. Look for forcing moves: checks first.
Mate patterns
Famous mating pictures that come back again and again. Learn to recognise them at a glance.
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Back-rank mate
The king is stuck behind its own pawns.
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Smothered mate
A knight mates a king trapped by its own pieces.
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Anastasia's mate
Knight and rook trap the king on the edge.
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Arabian mate
Rook and knight mate in the corner.
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Boden's mate
Two bishops on crossing diagonals.
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Hook mate
Rook, knight and pawn work together.
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Dovetail mate
The queen mates, the king's own pieces block the way.
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Two-bishop mate
Both bishops mate together.
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Opera mate
Rook mates on the back rank, bishop protects it.
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Pillsbury's mate
Rook and bishop mate the castled king.
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Epaulette mate
The king's own rooks block it in.
Winning material
Win a piece and the game gets much easier. Find the move that wins a queen, rook, bishop or knight.
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Win a queen
Find the move that wins the opponent's queen.
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Win a rook
Find the move that wins the opponent's rook.
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Win a bishop
Find the move that wins the opponent's bishop.
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Win a knight
Find the move that wins the opponent's knight.
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Hanging piece
A piece is left unprotected. Take it.
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Trapped piece
Attack a piece that has nowhere to go.
Tactics
Short tricks that win the game: forks, pins, skewers and more. Each topic teaches one idea.
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Fork
One piece attacks two at once.
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Pin
A piece cannot move without exposing something bigger.
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Skewer
Attack a big piece; when it moves, take what is behind it.
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Discovered attack
Move one piece to unleash another.
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Discovered check
A discovered attack on the king.
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Double check
Two pieces give check at once.
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Deflection
Lure a defender away from its job.
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Decoy
Pull a piece to a bad square.
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Interference
Put a piece between a defender and what it defends.
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Clearance
Get your own piece out of the way.
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X-ray
Attack or defend through another piece.
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Remove the defender
Take the piece that guards your target.
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In-between move
Before recapturing, play a stronger move first.
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Quiet move
No check, no capture, but it decides the game.
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Sacrifice
Give material to get something bigger.
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Zugzwang
Every move makes things worse for the opponent.
Openings
Learn the first moves of popular openings, then solve tactics that happen in them. In the opening: develop your pieces, fight for the centre and castle early.
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Italian Game
Learn every variation by heart as White: to move 5, 8 and 10.
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Ruy Lopez
Learn every variation by heart as White: to move 5, 8 and 10.
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Scotch Game
Learn every variation by heart as White: to move 5, 8 and 10.
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King's Gambit
Learn every variation by heart as White: to move 5, 8 and 10.
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Queen's Gambit
Learn every variation by heart as White: to move 5, 8 and 10.
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London System
Learn every variation by heart as White: to move 5, 8 and 10.
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English Opening
Learn every variation by heart as White: to move 5, 8 and 10.
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Sicilian Defence
Learn every variation by heart as Black: to move 5, 8 and 10.
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French Defence
Learn every variation by heart as Black: to move 5, 8 and 10.
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Caro-Kann Defence
Learn every variation by heart as Black: to move 5, 8 and 10.
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Scandinavian Defence
Learn every variation by heart as Black: to move 5, 8 and 10.
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King's Indian Defence
Learn every variation by heart as Black: to move 5, 8 and 10.
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Tactics in the opening
Puzzles from real games in the openings you learn.
Endgames
Few pieces left, every move counts. Promote pawns and win the endings that come up most.
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Pawn endgames
Kings and pawns only.
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Rook endgames
The most common endings in chess.
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Queen endgames
Queens on an open board: watch for checks.
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Bishop endgames
Bishops and pawns.
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Knight endgames
Knights and pawns.
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Promotion
Push a pawn all the way and make a queen.
Defence and draws
Not every puzzle is an attack. Find the only move that holds, or save a lost game with a draw.
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Only defence
Find the one move that holds.
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Save the draw
A lost position? Find the way to a draw.
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Special moves
En passant, castling and underpromotion.
Classic problems
Composed chess problems from the 19th century: White to play and mate. Beautiful and hard.
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Classic problems: mate in 2
White to play and mate in two.
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Classic problems: mate in 3
White to play and mate in three.