Beginner chess puzzles
Beginner puzzles focus on the patterns that decide most games under 1200: free pieces, one-move mates, simple forks and pins. If you are new to tactics, start here and aim for accuracy over speed.
About this set
120 puzzles from real games, spread across tactical themes so you get a fair sample of your strengths and weaknesses. Each one is tagged, so every solve or miss updates your weakness map.
Once your map shows a weak pattern, open that theme's page to drill it directly, or use the adaptive drill to do it automatically.
Other levels
Train by theme
Checkmate patterns
- Mate in 1One move, game over. Train the reflex. · 84 puzzles
- Mate in 2A forcing move, then the finish. · 84 puzzles
- Mate in 3Longer forcing lines. Calculation practice. · 84 puzzles
- Back-rank mateThe king trapped behind its own pawns. · 84 puzzles
- Smothered mateA knight mates a king boxed in by its own pieces. · 75 puzzles
- Anastasia's mateKnight and rook trap the king on the edge. · 82 puzzles
- Arabian mateRook and knight corner the king. · 84 puzzles
- Boden's mateTwo bishops on crossing diagonals. · 77 puzzles
- Hook mateRook, knight and pawn working together. · 84 puzzles
- Double bishop mateTwo bishops covering adjacent diagonals. · 73 puzzles
Core tactics
- ForkOne piece attacks two targets at once. · 84 puzzles
- PinA piece that can't move without exposing something bigger. · 84 puzzles
- SkewerA reverse pin: the big piece moves, the one behind falls. · 84 puzzles
- Discovered attackMove one piece, unleash another. · 84 puzzles
- Double checkTwo checks at once. The king must move. · 84 puzzles
- Hanging pieceSpot the free material, and don't leave your own. · 84 puzzles
- Trapped pieceWin a piece that has nowhere to go. · 84 puzzles
- Removing the defenderTake the piece that holds everything together. · 84 puzzles
- DeflectionLure a defender away from its post. · 84 puzzles
- SacrificeGive material to win more, or mate. · 84 puzzles
Advanced tactics
- Attraction (decoy)Drag a piece onto a fatal square. · 84 puzzles
- ClearanceClear a square or line for another piece. · 84 puzzles
- InterferenceCut the line between two enemy pieces. · 84 puzzles
- X-ray attackAttack or defend through another piece. · 84 puzzles
- ZugzwangEvery move makes it worse. · 84 puzzles
- Quiet moveNo check, no capture, and still winning. · 84 puzzles
- Defensive moveFind the only move that holds. · 84 puzzles
- Intermezzo (zwischenzug)An in-between move before the obvious recapture. · 84 puzzles
- Exposed kingPunish a king without pawn cover. · 84 puzzles
Endgames & special moves
- PromotionTurn a pawn into a queen. · 84 puzzles
- UnderpromotionWhen a knight beats a queen. · 84 puzzles
- En passantThe capture most players forget. · 70 puzzles
- Rook endgameThe most common endgame in chess. · 84 puzzles
- Pawn endgameOpposition, breakthroughs and races. · 84 puzzles
- Queen endgameChecks, forks and perpetuals. · 84 puzzles
- Knight endgameForks and outside passers. · 84 puzzles
- Bishop endgameColour complexes and passed pawns. · 84 puzzles
- Attacking f2/f7The weakest square in the opening. · 84 puzzles