Chess Puzzles
Mate in 2, 3, 4 and 5 from real games.
Chess Puzzles: Mate in 2, 3, 4 and 5
A checkmate puzzle asks one very precise question: is there a forced mate here, and can you see it to the end? Unlike a general tactics puzzle, where the reward might be a won endgame or a piece, a mate-in-N has a hard edge. Either the mate is there in N moves against every defence, or your line does not work. That is what makes these positions such good training — there is no partial credit, and no way to talk yourself into a move that only looks strong.
Every position on this page is taken from a real game played on Lichess, whose puzzle database is released into the public domain. Each one has been replayed and checked move by move before being published here: the position is legal, the whole line is legal, the final move is genuinely checkmate, and the mate takes exactly the number of moves the tab says it does — no more, no less.
How to Solve One
Start with the forcing moves and nothing else: checks, captures, and threats that cannot be ignored. In a mate-in-2 the first move is almost always a check or a quiet move that takes away every escape square. Work out the defender's best reply, not the reply you would like them to find, and only count a line solved when every legal answer is covered.
Why Mate Puzzles Work
Calculating a forced mate trains the two skills that decide most games: seeing the board several moves deep without moving the pieces, and recognising mating patterns at a glance. The back-rank mate, the smothered mate, the Arabian mate and the queen-and-knight mating net all recur again and again, and the more of them you have seen, the faster the next one arrives.
The Four Difficulty Steps
- Mate in 2 Two of your moves and one defensive reply. Pattern recognition more than calculation — the right first move usually announces itself once you notice which squares the king does not have.
- Mate in 3 Now the defender gets two chances to wriggle. Quiet first moves start appearing, and a check that feels natural is often exactly the move that lets the king out.
- Mate in 4 Real calculation. Usually a sacrifice to drag the king into the open or to strip a defender away, followed by a net that closes one square at a time.
- Mate in 5 Deep forcing lines, often with more than one sacrifice, and branches that have to be held in your head at once. There are fewer of these because genuine, clean five-move mates are simply rarer.
Getting the Most Out of Them
Solve in your head before you touch a piece. Moving first and looking second is the habit that costs the most rating points, because it trains you to guess rather than to calculate. If you genuinely cannot see it, take the hint before the solution — knowing which piece moves and still having to find where is far more useful than being shown the answer.
When a puzzle beats you, do not move straight on. Play the solution through, then set it up again and solve it properly. The pattern you missed is worth more than the three you found. And when you want a full game instead of a position, you can play against Stockfish, analyze one of your own games, take the chess rating test to estimate your ELO, or train with the AI chess coach.
How Are Puzzles Tracked?
Every puzzle on this page is drawn from real games and verified move by move. Your solved count and streak are stored in your own browser, so you can practise checkmate puzzles online as often as you like.
What Does "Mate in 2" Mean in Chess?
A mate in 2 is a position where one side can force checkmate in exactly two of their own moves, no matter how the defender replies. You make a move, the defence answers with its best try, and your second move delivers mate. Mate in 3, 4 and 5 extend the same idea: the mate must be forced against every legal defence, which is what separates a real solution from a move that merely looks strong.
What Rating Are These Puzzles?
Each puzzle shows its Lichess puzzle rating above the board, so you can see roughly how hard it is before you start. Mate in 2 puzzles here begin in the 400s — ideal for beginners learning checkmate patterns — while the deeper mate in 4 and mate in 5 positions climb well past club level. The rating measures the puzzle, not you: a 1200-rated player should solve most sub-1000 puzzles quickly and be genuinely stretched around 1400 and above.
How Many Chess Puzzles Should I Solve a Day?
Ten to twenty focused puzzles a day beats a hundred rushed ones. Tactics training works through pattern recognition, and patterns only stick when you calculate the full line before moving. A good routine: warm up with a few mate in 2s, spend most of your session one level above your comfort zone, and replay every puzzle you failed before moving on.
Where Do the Puzzles Come From?
Every position is taken from a real game via the Lichess puzzle database, which is released into the public domain. Before a puzzle is published here it is replayed and verified move by move by a chess engine: the position is legal, the mate is forced, and it takes exactly the number of moves advertised.