Chess Puzzles

Play and learn how the pros handle complex chess positions. These interactive chess puzzles help you to get better at chess, improve your concentration and learn some new tricks. Most of the positions occurred during famous games between Grandmasters and demonstrate tactical ideas encountered in actual play – no computer analysis here. Careful study of these positions will help you improve your skill in finding good moves and combinations in actual games. You will also learn a great deal about the planning and execution of combinational chess.

Click on any puzzle for details. From there you can solve the puzzle online or select its FEN string and, if you have the full version of SparkChess, paste it in the Board Editor to play from that position. All puzzles have solutions (hidden by default). Don’t forget to comment if you found an alternate (or better) solution!

Use the links on the side (or at the bottom on mobile devices) to see more puzzles. They are sorted in levels to allow everyone to improve their skills.

Chess puzzles are best for when you are idle and bored. They provide a good way to pass time and also improve your concentration, even if you are a beginner or Olympiad master. Learning how to solve these puzzles will improve the knowledge of beginning chess principles – seeing the right move in a position that your opponent overlooked. Our collection of interesting chess positions for online play or trainer mode is unique in that it includes mistakes that were made by top players. Everyone makes mistakes, and studying these common errors is a great way to learn about what not to do!

Edward Lasker vs. George Alan Thomas

Try to solve this online chess puzzle. It is a difficult one. White to move and wins after an unusual 8th movement.

Ossip Bernstein vs. Alexander Kotov

This online chess puzzle recreate the endgame between Bernstein and Kotov. Will Berstein do a sacrifice to gain a strategical position and win the game?

Paul Keres vs. Arturo Pomar Salamanca

With a sacrifice trap Paul Keres has developed a strategical position that allowed a clear win against

Alexander Meek vs. Paul Morphy

An amazing chess endgame between Alexander Meek versus Paul Morphy. Morphy with the blacks proves his chess abilities and intuition

Enrico Paoli vs. Jan Foltys

The battle between two chess masters will end in a position exploited by the black.

Milan Vidmar vs. Max Euwe

It happened at Carlsbad in 1929. The game between Grandmaster Milan Vidmar and Grandmaster Max Euwe has ended with an unexpected sacrifice. Can you find Vidmars’ solution?

Paul Vaitonis vs. Reuben Fine

The end game Paul Vaitonis and Reuben Fine , Stockholm 1937 ended in a victory for Fine who won in 3 moves.

Géza Maróczy vs. Heinrich Wolf

An endgame between two chess masters having two different playing styles, Géza Maróczy with his defensive style and Heinrich Wolf with an aggresive one.