Question 1

What is a chess tactics trainer?

Accepted Answer

A chess tactics trainer presents you with positions where there is a winning tactical move. You practice finding forks, pins, skewers, back-rank mates, discovered attacks, and other patterns — the building blocks of chess improvement.

Question 2

Is this chess tactics trainer free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. This tactics trainer is completely free, runs entirely in your browser, and requires no account or signup. Just open it and start solving puzzles.

Question 3

What chess tactics are covered?

Accepted Answer

The 30 puzzles cover: knight fork, queen fork, back-rank tactics, smothered mate, discovered attack, x-ray attack, skewer, bishop skewer, Arabian Mate, Anastasia's Mate, Fool's Mate, Scholar's Mate, Damiano's Mate, kiss-of-death queen mate, two bishops mate, lawnmower (ladder) mate, hook mate, promotion tactics, absolute pin, relative pin, removing the defender, discovered double check mate, queen + bishop battery mate, and more.

Question 4

How do I use the tactics trainer?

Accepted Answer

Click a piece to see its legal moves highlighted on the board. Then click the destination square to play the move. If it matches the winning tactic, you'll see the solution explanation. If not, try again. There are 30 puzzles to complete in order — or jump to any puzzle from the grid below the board.

Question 5

What is a hook mate or lawnmower mate?

Accepted Answer

A 'lawnmower' (or 'ladder') mate is when two rooks work together to drive the enemy king to the edge of the board and mate it — one rook cuts off a rank, the other delivers check on the next. A 'hook mate' is when a rook gives check supported by a pawn (so the king can't capture), with a knight covering the king's only escape square — the pawn, knight, and rook form a 'hook' shape on the board.

Chess Tactics Trainer

Knight Fork

Tactics covered