Chess puzzle

A chess puzzle is a puzzle in which knowledge of the pieces and rules of chess is used to logically solve a chess-related problem. The history of chess puzzles reaches back to the Middle Ages and has since evolved.

Usually the goal is to find the single best, ideally aesthetic move or a series of single best moves in a chess position, that was created by a composer or is from a real game. But puzzles can also set different objectives. Examples include deducing the last move played, the location of a missing piece, or whether a player has lost the right to castle. Sometimes the objective is antithetical to normal chess, such as helping (or even compelling) the opponent to checkmate one's own king.