Mate in 2 puzzles
84 free mate in 2 puzzles from real games, rated 899 to 2329. Solve them on the board below; your accuracy feeds your weakness map.
What is a mate in 2?
Mate in 2 is where calculation starts. The first move usually forces the reply: a check, a capture or a threat the opponent can't ignore. The second move delivers mate.
The skill being trained is seeing past the opponent's only reply. Most misses happen because the first move looks like it loses material, so it never gets considered.
Common mistake
Calculating only the reply you expect. Check every legal answer to your first move, especially king moves.
How to spot it
Start with checks, then captures, then threats. Forcing moves narrow the opponent's replies.
Ask what the king's defenders are doing. Removing or overloading one often opens the mate.
A queen sacrifice on move one is common here. Material doesn't matter if mate follows.
Related themes
- Mate in 1One move, game over. Train the reflex.
- Mate in 3Longer forcing lines. Calculation practice.
- Back-rank mateThe king trapped behind its own pawns.
- Smothered mateA knight mates a king boxed in by its own pieces.
- Anastasia's mateKnight and rook trap the king on the edge.
Let the adaptive drill find your weakest pattern
Puzzles: Lichess puzzle database (CC0), filtered for popularity and play count. See how Weakspot works.