Puzzle wXikb_M — ELO 1963
This is a Black-to-move puzzle rated 1963 ELO. The first move is d4d3, tagged with 10 interpretable concepts and Lichess themes: backRankMate, clearance, endgame.
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Position
Black to move. ELO 1963. Themes: backRankMate, clearance, endgame, fork, mate, mateIn4, sacrifice, veryLong.
FEN: 1k1r4/pp2Q2p/6p1/1r6/3q4/3P4/PPR3PP/1KR5 b - - 4 24
Show solution (8 ply)
Try to find the move yourself first — look for the rarest concept firing on this position before peeking. Solution sequence: d4d3 e7c7 b8a8 c7d8 d3d8 c2c8 d8c8 c1c8
Concepts that fire on this position
Our SAE pipeline tagged this position with 10 active features. Each links to a page documenting that pattern in detail.
Why this puzzle is hard
The rarest pattern firing here is A white rook under attack by black pieces and defended by a white piece…, which appears in only 30 of our 9,950 puzzles (0.30%). Rare patterns tend to be the bottleneck — players who haven't internalised them will fail this puzzle even when their tactical calculation is otherwise solid.
The puzzle's Lichess ELO of 1963 reflects this: solvers below that rating typically miss the cue entirely.
Similar puzzles
Puzzles sharing the most concept tags with this one — a stronger signal than theme overlap because it reflects the actual patterns Leela recognises.
Train this pattern
Click through to the Climbchess trainer to attempt the position interactively against the same Leela network that tagged it. The trainer adapts difficulty using your live concept-recognition profile — it surfaces puzzles tagged with concepts you've been missing, not random brawls.
If you want the underlying methodology, the how-it-works page walks through the SAE training run, the labelling pipeline, and the puzzle-tagging procedure end-to-end.
Frequently asked
What is the rating of this puzzle?
1963 Lichess ELO. Solvers below that rating typically miss the key cue.
Which side moves first?
Black to move; the first move of the solution is d4d3.
What concepts does it train?
10 SAE-derived patterns including A queen actively placed on an open rank or file relative…; White Queen on the 1st or 2nd rank, unthreatened by black…; This feature detects a white queen on a square where it is….
Can I attempt it without an account?
Yes — Climbchess requires no signup or email. Click the trainer link to play the position interactively.