Puzzle zww3U — ELO 1171

By · · 3 min read · Updated May 8, 2026

This is a White-to-move puzzle rated 1171 ELO. The first move is f3h4, tagged with 10 interpretable concepts and Lichess themes: long, mate, mateIn3.

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Position

White to move. ELO 1171. Themes: long, mate, mateIn3, opening.

abcdefgh87654321

FEN: rnbqk2r/ppp3pp/4p3/3p1p2/5Pnb/1P2PN1P/PBPPB1P1/RN1QK2R w KQkq - 1 8

Show solution (6 ply)

Try to find the move yourself first — look for the rarest concept firing on this position before peeking. Solution sequence: f3h4 d8h4 g2g3 h4g3 e1f1 g3f2

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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 Black king on e8 with at least two black pieces defending squares adjacent to it, which appears in only 216 of our 9,950 puzzles (2.17%). 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 1171 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?

1171 Lichess ELO. Solvers below that rating typically miss the key cue.

Which side moves first?

White to move; the first move of the solution is f3h4.

What concepts does it train?

10 SAE-derived patterns including White Queen on the 1st or 2nd rank, unthreatened by black…; A well-supported white knight on an outpost square that is…; Detects an early-development black position where the….

Can I attempt it without an account?

Yes — Climbchess requires no signup or email. Click the trainer link to play the position interactively.