Promotion puzzles
A pawn reaches the last rank and becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight.
About promotion puzzles
A pawn reaches the last rank and becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight. Many puzzles hinge on stopping, forcing or using promotion.
How to spot it
- Count how many moves a pawn needs to promote and whether the opponent can stop it.
- Look for a check that also lets your pawn advance.
- Sometimes a knight is better than a queen: promote to a knight if it gives check or avoids stalemate.
A common mistake
Promoting at once when a check or a better piece first would win more.
A worked example
Q
K
Q
N
B
R
K
RWhite to move. Black has just played Rh4. Find the best move.
Solution: 31. Qxf6+ Qxf6 32. Rxf6 Kxf6 33. d8=Q+
Qxf6+ checks the king and also attacks the queen on d8 and the pawn on f7, so your opponent has to answer the check. The idea: A pawn reaches the last rank and becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight.
The highlighted squares show Black's last move. This position is a different puzzle from the ones you start with above (1169 rating).
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Questions
What can a pawn promote to?
A queen, a rook, a bishop or a knight. Almost always a queen, but underpromotion wins in special cases such as a knight fork or avoiding stalemate.
Where do these puzzles come from?
They are real puzzles from the Lichess puzzle database, which is free to use under the CC0 license. Each one was built from a real game and tested by many players. We picked well-rated ones with good popularity scores.
Are the puzzles free?
Yes. There is no signup, no limit and no ads on the puzzles. Your progress on this page is not saved after you leave.
What do the difficulty levels mean?
Beginner puzzles are rated under 1250, intermediate 1250 to 1749 and advanced 1750 and up, using the rating Lichess players earned on each puzzle.