How to Solve Chess Puzzles Like a Pro

Tactics are important at every level of chess. One of the most vital ways to progress to an intermediate level, more important than learning openings, is building your pattern recognition with puzzles. Working through tactical puzzles sharpens calculation and pattern recognition. However, simply guessing moves wastes potential learning.

This 8-step approach will ensure that you can start solving puzzles more effectively and actually learn how to apply them to your games.

8 steps to solve chess puzzles

1. Quickly evaluate the position. 

   Before calculating any moves, familiarize yourself with the material balance and king safety.

   
   

   In our example:

   
   

   Material: Black is down a minor piece (3 points) and a pawn (1 point). This means that black is down 4 points of material. Generally, when you are down a great deal of material in a puzzle, the correct solution is to checkmate or win a large amount of material.

King Safety: White's king is in dire straights compared to our king. White's doubled pawns on f2 and f3 greatly weaken the diagonals and squares around the white king.

2. Identify the objective. 

   Decide whether the goal is to checkmate, win material, or defend a losing position. This focus guides your search. On platforms like Chess.com and Lichess, most puzzles end with a win, not a draw.

In our example:

Objective: Because we likely need to checkmate our opponent, combined with the fact that white's king is in significant danger, you can conclude that we can create mating threats against their king.

3. Review your opponent’s last move. 

   Tactics often arise from the consequences of the opponent’s previous move. Identify new weaknesses or undefended squares/pieces that move created.

In our example:

The consequence of Qe2: It is difficult to identify how this move could backfire, as it doesn't seem to hang a piece or cause an obvious detriment to white's position. In the winning sequence, the white queen blocks the king's escape to e2.

1. Identify targets and motifs. 

   Look for exposed pieces, weak squares, and classic tactical ideas such as forks, pins, skewers, and discovered attacks.

In our example:

Queen & Bishop Battery: This is a powerful attacking formation that can lead to checkmating threats, especially when a king is in this much danger.

Weak h2 square: Our battery lines up against the h2 pawn, which cannot be defended by any of white's pieces. The issue is not that white is losing the pawn, it's that white is being checkmated.

1. Calculate checks, captures, and threats.  

   Examine all checks, captures, and threats. These forcing moves often reveal tactical ideas.

In our example:

Checks: Black has 4 checks from the starting position.

Qg3+, Qg4+ & Qxh2+: These moves clearly blunder a queen without compensation. White can recapture with their pawns or king.

Qg5+: This check forces the white king to the h1 square, which actually helps save the white king from our threats. We can no longer create our queen & bishop battery, and the white rook can now attack us on the g-file.

Captures:

Bxc3: This is the only capture we have that doesn't blunder a queen. This knight was well defended, as white can just recapture with their a4 knight, or their pawn on b2. We have helped them simplify their position, which is now winning.

Threats:

Rfd8/Rad8: These moves may look promising, as we are preparing to put our rook on the 2nd rank, which is defended by our queen. White has no need to worry about this, as their 2nd rank is well defended and they are up a piece. White can just make a move to stop the real threat of Be5 by offering a queen trade with Qe3.

Be5: This

1. 
   

2. Narrow your candidate moves by process of elimination. 

   List the most promising options, then eliminate weaker ones through logical analysis. Systematically review all legal moves if uncertain.

In our example:

When you finally decided on a move, I recommend that the move is something you consider to be a good move, not just a random guess. If you are confident in your move, go ahead and play it. But if you are not sure, don't guess. Guessing leads to poor thinking habits in actual games and missing out on the benefits of proper puzzle solving.

Compare your answer with the solution. 

1. Review the puzzle’s answer; note any errors in your thought process, missed motifs, and miscalculations.

   
   

2. Study the solution.

   Understand why the correct move works and how the ideas could appear in your games.

   
   

Additional calculation tips

There are three key skills when training with puzzles: tactical vision, calculation accuracy, and calculation speed.

The following techniques help:

• Avoid ruminating. 

  Don’t repeatedly analyze the same line if you are positive it fails. However, don’t dismiss a line too early—sometimes a hidden resource appears deeper in the variation.

  
  

• Set milestones. 

  In complex puzzles, calculate forced lines until they reach a quiet position, then reassess and look for new candidate moves.

  
  

• Think prophylactically. 

  Always ask what your opponent wants to do next.

• Keep puzzle rating in mind. Easier puzzles often feature immediate tactics, while harder ones may involve quiet moves (moves without a check, capture, or threat) or longer forcing lines.

  
  

• If a move seems too good to be true in a difficult puzzle, often times it is. Part of the reason puzzles can be higher rated is that there are several appealing options you have to sort through to find the solution.

Practice routines

• Puzzle rush vs. long calculation.  

  Use timed sessions to develop speed, and untimed sessions to build accuracy.

  
  

• Mix difficulty levels.  

  Combine easier puzzles that reinforce patterns with harder ones that stretch your calculation.

  
  

• Record mistakes.

  Keep a log or use Chess.com/Lichess history to revisit missed puzzles and review them later.

• Balance puzzles, playing, and opening analysis.

  For beginners, spend about 60% of your time playing and analyzing games, and 40% solving puzzles.

  
  

  For intermediate players, aim for 50% games and analysis, 25% puzzles, and 25% opening theory.

Now get out there and start solving puzzles—your blunders aren’t going to turn into brilliancies by themselves. Warning: they’re dangerously satisfying.