Sacrifice puzzles
You give up material to win more, or to reach checkmate.
About sacrifice puzzles
You give up material to win more, or to reach checkmate. Sacrifices are rarely random: they open a king, remove a defender or win time.
How to spot it
- Look at what the sacrificed piece would do after it is taken. Does the king or a defender end up on a bad square?
- Count your follow-up checks. A sacrifice usually works because of forcing moves after it.
- Do not sacrifice without a clear next move. Calculate the forced line to the end.
A common mistake
Sacrificing without a forced follow-up. If the opponent has a quiet reply, the idea fails.
A worked example
R
K
Q
N
R
N
Q
KWhite to move. Black has just played Nb3. Find the best move.
Solution: 31. Rd8+ Rxd8 32. Qxg7#
Rd8+ checks the king and also attacks the rook on a8, so your opponent has to answer the check. The last move is checkmate: the king has no safe square and nothing can block or capture. The idea: You give up material to win more, or to reach checkmate.
The highlighted squares show Black's last move. This position is a different puzzle from the ones you start with above (1074 rating).
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Questions
When is a sacrifice worth it?
When the forced sequence after it wins more than you gave, or ends in checkmate. If you cannot see the end of the line, be careful.
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.