Puzzle streak
Each puzzle gets harder. One miss and it’s over.
Daily puzzle
A new challenge every day.
Train a theme
Motifs
Hanging pieces
Spot and grab pieces left undefended.
Forks
Attack two pieces at once so your opponent can only save one.
Exposed king
Punish a king with no pawn shelter.
Skewers
Attack a valuable piece so it has to move and leave the piece behind it hanging.
Discovered attacks
Move one piece out of the way to unleash an attack from another.
Sacrifices
Give up material to get something better in return.
Quiet moves
Find the strong move that isn’t a check or capture.
Deflection
Lure a defender away from the square or piece it protects.
Kingside attacks
Break through on the side where the king castled.
Pins
Freeze a piece that can’t move without exposing something more valuable behind it.
Interference
Block the line between an enemy piece and what it defends.
Defensive moves
Find the only move that saves the position.
Advanced pawns
Use a pawn on the doorstep of promotion.
Clearance
Move a piece out of the way to open a line or square for another.
Queenside attacks
Attack a king that castled queenside.
Attraction
Force an enemy piece onto a square where it can be attacked.
Attacking f2 and f7
Hit the weakest square in the starting position.
Trapped pieces
Cut off a piece’s escape squares and win it.
In-between moves
Insert a surprising zwischenzug before the expected reply.
Discovered checks
Uncover a check by moving the piece that blocks it, often winning material.
Removing the defender
Capture the piece holding the defence together.
Double checks
Check with two pieces at once. The king must move.
Zugzwang
Put your opponent in a spot where every move makes things worse.
X-ray attacks
Attack or defend a square through an enemy piece.
Collinear moves
Slide a piece along the same line it already controls to great effect.
Checkmates
Checkmate
Finish the game with a forced mate.
Mate in 2
Force checkmate in two moves.
Mate in 1
Find the one move that ends the game.
Smothered mates
Mate with a knight when the king is boxed in by its own pieces.
Mate in 3
Calculate a forced mate three moves deep.
Corner mates
Trap the king in the corner with rook and knight.
Opera mates
Rook mates on the back rank backed by a bishop, as in Morphy’s famous Opera Game.
Swallow’s tail mates
Queen mates with the king’s escape squares blocked behind it.
Arabian mate
Rook and knight team up in the corner.
Mate in 4
A longer forced mate. Calculate carefully.
Epaulette mates
The king is flanked by its own pieces like shoulder pads.
Vuković mates
Rook and knight mate with the king on the edge.
Pillsbury’s mates
Rook and bishop strike a castled king.
Back-rank mates
Checkmate a king trapped behind its own pawns.
Hook mates
Rook, knight and pawn combine to trap the king.
Dovetail mates
Queen mate where the king’s own pieces block its escape.
Triangle mates
Queen and rook form a triangle around the king.
Morphy’s mates
Bishop and rook trap the king in the corner.
Kill box mates
Rook and queen form a box around the king.
Blind swine mates
Two rooks on the 7th rank devour the king.
Anastasia’s mate
Knight and rook (or queen) trap the king on the edge.
Boden’s mate
Two bishops on crossing diagonals mate a castled king.
Double bishop mates
Two bishops on adjacent diagonals deliver mate.
Mate in 5 or more
Long, forcing mating combinations.
Balestra mates
Bishop and queen pin the king to the edge.
Phases
Middlegame tactics
Combinations from the heart of the game.
Endgame tactics
Sharp ideas with few pieces left.
Rook endgames
The most common endgame, and the trickiest.
Bishop endgames
Endgames with bishops and pawns.
Opening tactics
Tricks and traps from the first moves of the game.
Queen endgames
Endgames with queens and pawns.
Pawn endgames
King and pawn races, breakthroughs and opposition.
Knight endgames
Endgames with knights and pawns.
Queen and rook endgames
Heavy pieces with few pawns.