Chess Puzzles
Winning chess strategies and chess tactics can be found in many different areas. Working on chess openings and chess endgames are two great ways to improve your chess tactics and playing ability. Chess puzzles are another great way to improve your game should be part of any player’s practice sessions.
You can start with mate in 1 (beginner) and then mate in 2 (intermediate) and continue on to the more difficult advanced chess puzzles. Other types of chess puzzles, such as those where the player is not solving for mate, but instead is trying to find the winning move can also really help improve one's chess game. These types of puzzles are usually about finding the move that wins material or changes the position so dramatically, that it also changes the outcome.
Another way to improve your chess game is to take chess lessons. This helps for many reasons, not the least of which is you get instant feedback on your particular issue or issues, because the chess instruction is tailored directly to you. But remember, nothing beats practice! And nowadays, because of computers and online chess sites, it's incredibly easy to get a game of any duration and at any time of day.
That said, it's important to play, but it's equally important to go over each game you play before you go on to the next in order to find out what you did right as well as wrong. If you merely play without reviewing your games, you will most likely never improve.
Now, let's get to the puzzles. The ones that follow here are mate in 2. Good luck!
A game is always won through a mistake, either the opponent's or one's own. Tartakover
Savielly Tartakower (1887–1956) was a leading Polish and French chess Grandmaster. He was also a leading chess journalist of the 1920s and 30s.
Chess Puzzle #1 (White to Move, Mate in 2)
Answer to Chess Puzzle #1
The answer is for white to play Q-f5. Black plays NxQ and e6 is checkmate. Queen sacrifices are great when they work.
Chess Puzzle #2 (White to Move, Mate in 2)
Answer to Chess Puzzle #2
White plays Q-e8. Black must capture with either the rook the knight and checkmate follows with N-f7.A beautiful smothered mate.
Chess Puzzle #3 (White to Move, Mate in 2)
Answer to Chess Puzzle #3
White begins by playing Qxc6 check. Black is forced to recapture white's queen with bxc6. Checkmate follows when white plays B-a6.