1,000,000+ Free Chess Puzzles for Kids

Start here if you are new

• Mate in 1 — one-move checkmates, the best possible first puzzles.
• Beginner puzzles — gentle introduction across all themes.
• Forks — the single most common way beginners win material.

How to get the most from chess puzzle practice

1. Scan the whole board first — every check, every capture, every undefended piece — before you start calculating.
2. Say the pattern's name to yourself when you spot it. Naming is what turns recognition into instinct.
3. Calculate to a quiet position rather than stopping at the first move that looks strong.
4. After solving, replay the line once more so the shape stays in memory.
5. Ten to fifteen puzzles daily beats an hour once a week — tactical memory is built by repetition.

Which level should start here

These puzzles are graded easy through hard, so a child who has just learned the moves and a rated tournament player can both train on the same page. Beginners should stay on the easy set and prioritise spotting the pattern over solving fast. Stronger players can use the hard set for calculation under time pressure. ChessMates students work through puzzles like these between lessons, alongside a structured 196-lesson curriculum and a coach who reviews what they missed.

Why tactics practice works

At beginner and intermediate level, almost every game is decided by a tactic — a hanging piece, a missed fork, a back-rank mate — rather than by deep strategy. That is why puzzle practice produces faster rating gains than opening study for most children. The pattern library you build through daily solving is what lets you see a winning move in seconds during a real game instead of calculating from scratch.

Browse every theme

Phases

• Opening — Tactics from the opening phase.
• Middlegame — Tactical ideas from the middle phase of the game.
• Endgame — Tactical ideas from the final phase of the game.
• Rook Endgame — An endgame with only rooks and pawns.
• Bishop Endgame — An endgame with only bishops and pawns.
• Pawn Endgame — An endgame with only pawns.
• Knight Endgame — An endgame with only knights and pawns.
• Queen Endgame — An endgame with only queens and pawns.
• Queen and Rook Endgame — An endgame with queens, rooks and pawns.

By Openings

• Sicilian Defense — Puzzles from the Sicilian Defense.
• French Defense — Puzzles from the French Defense.
• Queen's Pawn Game — Puzzles from the Queen's Pawn Game.
• Italian Game — Puzzles from the Italian Game.
• Caro-Kann Defense — Puzzles from the Caro-Kann Defense.
• Scandinavian Defense — Puzzles from the Scandinavian Defense.
• Queen's Gambit Declined — Puzzles from the Queen's Gambit Declined.
• English Opening — Puzzles from the English Opening.
• Ruy Lopez — Puzzles from the Ruy Lopez.
• Scotch Game — Puzzles from the Scotch Game.
• Indian Defense — Puzzles from the Indian Defense.
• Philidor Defense — Puzzles from the Philidor Defense.

Tactical Motifs

• Advanced Pawn — A pawn deep in enemy territory.
• Attack on f2 or f7 — Exploiting the weakest square.
• Capture the Defender — Remove the piece defending a target.
• Discovered Attack — Moving a piece to reveal an attack.
• Double Check — Two pieces give check simultaneously.
• Exposed King — Exploiting a vulnerable king position.
• Fork — One piece attacks two or more targets.
• Hanging Piece — Capturing an undefended piece.
• Kingside Attack — An attack targeting the kingside.
• Pin — A piece cannot move without exposing a more valuable one.
• Queenside Attack — An attack targeting the queenside.
• Sacrifice — Giving up material for a greater advantage.
• Skewer — A reverse pin — the more valuable piece is attacked first.
• Trapped Piece — A piece with no safe squares to move to.

Advanced

• Attraction — Luring a piece to a vulnerable square.
• Clearance — Vacating a square for another piece.
• Collinear Move — Moving along the same line as another piece.
• Discovered Check — Moving a piece to reveal a check.
• Defensive Move — A precise move to save the position.
• Deflection — Forcing a defender away from its duty.
• Interference — Blocking an enemy piece's line of action.
• Intermezzo — An in-between move that changes the sequence.
• Quiet Move — A strong move that doesn't check or capture.
• X-Ray Attack — A piece attacks through another piece.
• Zugzwang — Any move worsens the position.

Mate Puzzles

• Checkmate — Find the checkmate.
• Mate in 1 — Deliver checkmate in one move.
• Mate in 2 — Deliver checkmate in two moves.
• Mate in 3 — Deliver checkmate in three moves.
• Mate in 4 — Deliver checkmate in four moves.
• Mate in 5+ — Deliver checkmate in five or more moves.

Mate Patterns

• Anastasia Mate — A knight and rook deliver mate on the edge.
• Arabian Mate — A knight and rook coordinate to deliver mate.
• Back Rank Mate — Checkmate on the back rank.
• Boden Mate — Two bishops deliver a criss-cross mate.
• Corner Mate — Checkmate in the corner of the board.
• Double Bishop Mate — Two bishops deliver the final blow.
• Dovetail Mate — The queen delivers mate with king escape squares blocked.
• Epaulette Mate — The king is trapped by its own pieces on both sides.
• Hook Mate — A knight, rook and pawn coordinate for mate.
• Kill Box Mate — A rook and queen create a lethal box.
• Morphy Mate — A bishop and rook deliver mate against a castled king.
• Opera Mate — A rook and bishop coordinate on an open file.
• Smothered Mate — A knight delivers checkmate to a completely trapped king.

Special Moves

• Castling — Winning through castling.
• En Passant — A special pawn capture.
• Promotion — Promoting a pawn to a queen.
• Underpromotion — Promoting to a piece other than a queen.

Puzzle Goals

• Equality — Find the move that equalizes.
• Advantage — Gain a decisive advantage.
• Crushing — Win with an overwhelming move.
• Checkmate — Deliver checkmate.

Puzzle Length

• One Move — Solve in a single move.
• Short — A short tactical sequence.
• Long — A longer combination.
• Very Long — An extended tactical marathon.

Puzzle Origin

• Master Games — Puzzles from master-level games.
• Master vs Master — Puzzles from games between masters.
• Super GM Games — Puzzles from super grandmaster games.
• Player Games — Puzzles from player games.