Real World Chess Problems PGN ONly Chessable Jun 25, 2026

Real Chess Puzzles That Prepare You for Real Games

The problem with most chess puzzles is that you know there is a tactic to be found.

Even if you don’t know it’s “mate in 2” or “White to play and win material,” you are primed to look for such things.

But that’s not the real world. In a real chess game, no one is tapping you on the shoulder saying “there’s a tactic here.” Your objective is simply to find the best move.

And that’s the skill you’ll develop in Real World Chess Problems.

Real World Chess Problems is an integrated collection of tactical, strategic, and defensive puzzles of various themes and difficulties. It simulates a real game experience where your goal is simply to find the best move in any given position, with no preconception of what you must find.

You’ll never know what you’re going to get: one problem could have you working out a mate in 3, while the next could have you evaluating a strategic pawn break.

Take this puzzle for example: it’s White to play. Do you find a tactic against Black’s offside queen? Simply castle and get your king to safety? Something else?

As it turns out, the answer is e5! exploiting the weak c6 square:

Bf3 is the idea; but do see the follow-through if …Qc5?

The Structure (and Lack Thereof!) of the Course

This course contains 200 puzzles of mixed themes, including:

♞ Finding checkmates and winning material
♞ Defense and blunder checks
♞ Pawn breaks
♞ Positional sacrifices
♞ Piece exchanges
♞ Pawn promotion in the endgame

And more. The exercises are organized into 20 sets of 10 problems each for a nice daily workout, but besides that, there is no structure to the exercises whatsoever – no organization by theme, no organization by difficulty, nothing – to simulate real game situations as much as possible.

But random the mix may be, it doesn’t mean they’re not instructive. Each and every exercise includes a detailed explanation of the solution, elucidating the rationale behind each move and why other moves don’t work.

At the beginning of the course is a Solving Tips chapter, which outlines a simple 3-pronged framework for analyzing any chess position, whether it’s a puzzle or a real game. It also covers a variety of visual cues and geometrical patterns which help lead your eyes to the most important features of the board.

The c7 square is weak – the Solving Tip of concurrency will help you find it. But only Nd5, not Nb5, can exploit it. You’ll learn calculation tips like this in the course

In-Depth Instruction from an Insider – with Video Going Above and Beyond

Your instructor is Andrew Kauffman, better known to newsletter subscribers as “Andrew from Chessable.” A long-time staff member at Chessable and Chess.com, he’s seen and studied heaps of chess courses and books over the years, taking him from unrated to 2000+ FIDE as a working adult.

With this course, his goal is to help you sharpen your analytical thought process. And while the exercises and Solving Tips meet that goal on their own, the video course brings something special: a detailed walkthrough of all 200 exercises in the course.