Tactics

Chess tactics, one pattern at a time

Every puzzle here is checked by Stockfish: each of your moves is the engine's best, and the replies are the opponent's best defence.

touch_appStart with one: Knight Fork.

Patterns

Forks: A knight can attack two pieces at once. Find the check that also hits the rook.
Pins: A piece pinned to its king cannot legally move off the line. Pin the queen and win it.
Skewers: A skewer is a reversed pin: attack the valuable piece first, then take what stands behind it.
Discovered Attacks: Move one piece with a threat, and uncover an attack from the piece behind it.
Back-Rank Mate: The king is shut in by its own pawns. Checkmate on the back rank.
Hanging Pieces: Black's knight on d4 has no defender. Grab it.
Smothered Mate: Philidor's Legacy: checks, a queen sacrifice, and a knight mate against a king trapped by its own pieces.
Arabian Mate: Rook and knight trap a king in the corner.
Removing the Defender: If a piece is the only guard of a key square, eliminate it.
Queen and Bishop Mate: Line the queen up in front of a bishop on one diagonal. The bishop protects the queen's landing square.

Beginner: Knight Fork, Royal Fork, Queen Fork, The pawn fork, Check and grab, The family fork, Pin the Queen, Attack the pinned piece, Back Rank Mate, Doubled Rooks Break Through, Take the free knight, The loose rook, Queen + Bishop Battery
Intermediate: Attack the Pinned Piece, Bishop Skewer, Rook Skewer: Win the Queen, Discovered Attack, Discovered Check, Discovered check, Double check, The Arabian mate, Remove the Defender, Mate on h7
Advanced: Smothered Mate

Find the move. If there's a reply, the board plays the opponent's best defence and you continue.
A wrong move is explained with the reply that refutes it.
Hints come in steps: first the idea, then the piece, then the move.
Puzzles you struggle with come back later (spaced repetition) when you use the app.