10 zugzwang positions rated between 800 and 999, averaging 942. Each position below is from a real game, with the solution given underneath — so you can check yourself immediately rather than guessing whether you were right.
Zugzwang is the state where every legal move worsens your position — having to move is itself the disadvantage. It is almost exclusively an endgame phenomenon, and it is the mechanism behind most king-and-pawn wins.
These are pitched at 800-rated players. Puzzle ratings work like player ratings: a puzzle rated 800 is one that players around 800 solve about half the time, so if you are getting most of these you should move up a band.
Solving from a page is good for pattern recognition but not for tracking progress. The rated puzzle trainer serves puzzles matched to your own rating and adjusts as you solve, and the Mistake Trainer builds puzzles from positions you actually got wrong in your own games.
cxb4 cxb4 a5 Ke4 Kxf6
Kf3 Kg1 Kxg3
Kxg2 Ke4 Kg3 Kf5 Kh4
Kxb3 Kxd7 Kxb4 Kc6 Kc4
Kxb3 Kd5 Kb4
f4 exf4 gxf4 gxf4 Kxf4
Kxb5 bxc5 Kxc5 Kd3 Kd5
Kf4 g3 hxg3#
fxg4 e5 Kc4 e4 Kd4
Kg3 Kh6 Kxg4
Train zugzwang puzzles at your rating →
Zugzwang is the state where every legal move worsens your position — having to move is itself the disadvantage. It is almost exclusively an endgame phenomenon, and it is the mechanism behind most king-and-pawn wins.
Puzzle ratings work like player ratings. A puzzle rated 800 is one that players rated around 800 solve roughly half the time. The puzzles on this page average 942, so they suit 800-rated players.
Yes. Every puzzle on this page, including its solution, is free to view with no account. The rated trainer that tracks your progress and serves puzzles matched to your rating is part of Chess Ramp Premium.