Puzzle zzpR3_M — ELO 1497
This is a White-to-move puzzle rated 1497 ELO. The first move is a3a4, tagged with 10 interpretable concepts and Lichess themes: crushing, defensiveMove, endgame.
Free forever · no email · no signup · delete data anytime.
Position
White to move. ELO 1497. Themes: crushing, defensiveMove, endgame, master, pawnEndgame, short.
FEN: 8/5p1p/1p1k4/3p4/4P3/PP1K4/7P/8 w - - 1 33
Show solution (4 ply)
Try to find the move yourself first — look for the rarest concept firing on this position before peeking. Solution sequence: a3a4 d5e4 d3e4 d6c5
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 pawn on the 4th or 5th rank that is attacked by at least one black…, which appears in only 53 of our 9,950 puzzles (0.53%). 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 1497 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?
1497 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 a3a4.
What concepts does it train?
10 SAE-derived patterns including Detects king opposition or a key king square in a pure…; King in an endgame position with no immediate threats…; Detects kings in near-opposition or close proximity in….
Can I attempt it without an account?
Yes — Climbchess requires no signup or email. Click the trainer link to play the position interactively.