By difficulty
Puzzles for beginners
The easiest positions in the database, rated between 400 and 1000 by the players who have solved them. Almost all of them are one idea: a piece hanging, a fork, a mate in one. There is no shame in this shelf and a great deal of progress in it.
How to spot it
Two questions answer most of these. What of theirs is undefended, and can I give check somewhere useful. Say the answers out loud before you move a piece, and you will solve most of the board at this level without calculating anything.
The positions
Easiest first. Every one is from a real game, and the rating under each board is what it costs the players who have tried it on lichess.
-
1. Black to play Play it out →Answer
37...Rh5#
-
2. White to play Play it out →Answer
29.Rb8+ Rc8 30.Rxc8#
-
3. Black to play Play it out →Answer
31...Qxc1+ 32.Qd1 Qxd1#
-
4. Black to play Play it out →Answer
56...Rb1+ 57.Kxa2 Rxb5
-
5. White to play Play it out →Answer
36.Ne7+ Kf7 37.Nxc8
-
6. Black to play Play it out →Answer
19...Qxe1+ 20.Qxe1 Rxe1#
-
7. White to play Play it out →Answer
53.Rh8#
-
8. White to play Play it out →Answer
18.Qxh7+ Kf8 19.Qh8#
-
9. White to play Play it out →Answer
33.Rc8+ Nd8 34.Rxd8#
-
10. White to play Play it out →Answer
41.e8=N+ Kg6 42.Nxf6
-
11. White to play Play it out →Answer
23.Qh3+ Kg7 24.Qh8#
-
12. White to play Play it out →Answer
26.Rh8+ Kg7 27.R1h7#
Reading about a pattern is the easy half. Motify finds the positions where you missed one, by running your own lichess and Chess.com games through Stockfish, and puts each of them behind two or three puzzles on the same idea so you meet it having just found it three times. See how Motify works.
Positions from the lichess puzzle database, released under CC0.