A Beginning Chess Player Challenge: What is your Rank 800-1800?

A chess player with a rating of 800 is considered a novice or beginner. They have the basics of chess down and can identify threats and opportunities in the game.

Here are some other chess ratings:

• 1200: A player who can understand some basic strategies
• 1600: A player who is among the top scholastic players on a state or national level
• 1800: A player who is competent in tactics and can destroy most weaker amateurs. This is the minimum rating at which most masters start taking you seriously.
• 1800: A player who is better than 95% of all chess players
• A player with a rating of 800 could possibly beat a complete beginner who has just learned how the pieces move.

Here is a series of 10 chess puzzles that gradually increase in difficulty, starting at around 800 Elo and going up to around 1800 Elo:

1. 800 Elo:

White to move and mate in 2 moves.

[Chess board with:

White king on e1, queen on d1, bishop on c4, knight on f3, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d4, e5, f2, g2. 

Black king on e8, queen on d8, bishop on c8, knight on b8, pawns on a7, b7, c7, d6, f7, g7, h7.]

Solution: 

1. Qh5+ g6

2. Qh7#

2. 900 Elo: 

Black to move and win material.

[Chess board with:

White king on e1, queen on d2, bishop on c4, knight on b1, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d3, e4, f2, g2.

Black king on e8, queen on d6, bishop on g4, knight on f6, pawns on a7, b7, c7, d5, f7, g7, h7.]

Solution:

1...Bxf2+ 

2. Kxf2 Qxd2+ winning the queen

3. 1000 Elo:

White to move and win. 

[Chess board with: 

White king on g1, queen on d2, bishop on g2, knight on f3, pawns on a2, b3, c4, d3, e4, f4, h2.

Black king on g8, queen on d8, bishop on c8, knight on b8, pawns on a7, b7, c7, d6, e5, f7, h7.]

Solution:

1. Bxh7+ Kxh7 

2. Ng5+ Kg8

3. Qh6 forcing mate

4. 1100 Elo:

Black to move and win.

[Chess board with:

White king on e1, queen on d1, bishop on c4, knight on f3, pawns on a2, b2, c3, d4, e5, f2, g2.

Black king on e8, queen on c7, bishop on b7, knight on c6, pawns on a6, b5, d7, f7, g6, h7.]

Solution: 

1...d6! 

2. exd6 e.p. cxd6 winning a piece

5. 1200 Elo: 

White to move and draw.

[Chess board with:

White king on a1, queen on d4, bishop on e3, knight on c3, pawns on a5, b4, c5, e4, f2, g2, h2. 

Black king on a8, queen on b6, bishop on c8, knight on d7, pawns on b7, c6, d5, e6, f7, g7, h7.]

Solution:

1. Qd8+! Qxd8

2. Bxd8 is a draw by insufficient material

6. 1300 Elo:

Black to move and win.

[Chess board with:  

White king on g1, queen on d2, bishop on c1, knight on f3, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d4, e4, g3, h3.

Black king on g8, queen on h6, bishop on e7, knight on f6, pawns on a7, b7, c7, d5, e6, f7.]

Solution:

1...Bxh3! 2.gxh3 Qg5+ winning the queen.

7. 1400 Elo: 

White to move and win. 

[Chess board with:

White king on g1, queen on e2, bishop on b2, knight on c3, pawns on a2, b3, c4, d3, f2, g3, h2.

Black king on g8, queen on d8, bishop on e7, knight on f6, pawns on a7, b7, c5, e6, f7, h7.]

Solution: 

1. Nd5! exd5

2. Bxh7+ winning the queen

8. 1500 Elo:

Black to move and win.

[Chess board with:

White king on e1, queen on d2, bishop on g5, knight on f3, pawns on a2, b3, c4, d3, e4, f2, g2. 

Black king on e8, queen on c7, bishop on b7, knight on c6, pawns on a7, b6, d6, f7, g7, h7.]

Solution:

1...Bxg5! 2.Nxg5 Qxg5 winning the exchange

9. 1600 Elo:

White to move and win.

[Chess board with:  

White king on g1, queen on d2, bishop on g2, knight on f3, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d3, e4, f4, g3.

Black king on g8, queen on e7, bishop on b7, knight on c6, pawns on a7, b7, d7, e6, f7, h7.]

Solution: 

1. e5! dxe5 

2. fxe5 Nd7

3. Bxc6 winning a piece

10. 1800 Elo:

Black to move and win.

[Chess board with:

White king on g1, queen on d2, bishop on e3, knight on f3, pawns on a2, b2, c4, d3, e4, f2, h2.

Black king on g8, queen on h6, bishop on d6, knight on e7, pawns on a7, b7, c5, d6, f7, g6, h7.]

Solution:

1...Nxg2! 2. Kxg2 Qg5+ 3. Kh1 Qh4+ 4. Kg1 Bh3!! winning the queen

I apologize, I am an AI assistant without the capability to actually play chess against you. However, I can provide example chess puzzles at gradually increasing difficulty levels, which you could try to solve as a challenge:

Magnus Carlsen is the highest ranked chess player in the world with a rating of 2839. Carlsen is the only player with a rating over 2800. The top 10 ranked chess players are: 

1. Magnus Carlsen, Norway, 2839
2. Fabiano Caruana, United States, 2786
3. Hikaru Nakamura, United States, 2780
4. Ding Liren, China, 2780
5. Alireza Firouzja, France, 2777
6. Ian Nepomniachtchi, Russia, 2771
7. Anish Giri, 2760
8. Gukesh Dommaraju, 2758

Carlsen beat Nepomniachtchi in the 2021 World Chess Championship. Nepomniachtchi qualified again for the 2023 match, but Carlsen didn't want to play the same opponent in back-to-back championships

To become a chess grandmaster, a player must achieve a FIDE rating of at least 2500 and three grandmaster norms. A grandmaster norm is a tournament against other titled chess players. A player must achieve a 2600-rated performance in a tournament with at least nine rounds, where at least 50% are titled players. 

The title of grandmaster is the highest title awarded in chess, aside from the title of world champion. Many grandmasters are rated higher than 2500, and some are rated so highly that they are occasionally referred to as “super-grandmasters”

**800 Level**

White to move and mate in 2:

[Chess board image with White king on e1, queen on h5, bishop on c4, knight on f3, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d4, e5, f2, g2. Black king on e8, pawns on a7, b7, c7, d6, f7, g6, h7.]

**900 Level** 

Black to move and win material:

[Chess board image with White king on e1, queen on d1, bishop on f1, knight on g5, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d4, e4, f2, g2. Black king on e8, queen on c5, bishop on b7, knight on c6, pawns on a7, b7, d6, f7, g7.]

**1000 Level**

White to move and checkmate:

[Chess board image with White king on e1, queen on h4, bishop on c4, knight on f3, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d4, e5, f2, g2. Black king on e8, queen on d8, bishop on c8, knight on b8, pawns on a7, b7, c7, d6, f7, g7.]

**1100 Level** 

Black to move and win:

[Chess board image with White king on e1, queen on d2, bishop on c4, knight on b1, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d3, e4, f2, g2. Black king on e8, queen on f6, bishop on b7, knight on c6, pawns on a6, b5, d7, f7, g7.]

**1200 Level**

White to move and draw: 

[Chess board image with White king on a1, queen on b1, bishop on d2, knight on e2, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d3, f2, g2, h2. Black king on a8, queen on b8, bishop on c8, knight on g8, pawns on a7, b7, c7, d6, e7, f7, g7.]

**1300 Level**

Black to move and win:

[Chess board image with White king on g1, queen on f2, bishop on c4, knight on g5, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d3, e4, f3, g2. Black king on g8, queen on h6, bishop on e7, knight on f6, pawns on a7, b7, c5, e6, f7, h7.]

**1400 Level**

White to move and win:

[Chess board image with White king on g1, queen on e2, bishop on b2, knight on c3, pawns on a2, b4, c4, d3, e3, f2, g2. Black king on g8, queen on d8, bishop on e7, knight on f6, pawns on a7, b7, c7, d6, e5, f7, h7.] 

**1500 Level** 

Black to move and win:

[Chess board image with White king on e1, queen on d2, bishop on c4, knight on b1, pawns on a2, b2, c3, d3, e4, f2, g2. Black king on e8, queen on c6, bishop on b7, knight on g4, pawns on a7, b5, d7, f7, g7, h7.]

**1600 Level**

White to move and win: 

[Chess board image with White king on g1, queen on d2, bishop on g2, knight on f3, pawns on a2, b3, c4, d3, e4, f4, h2. Black king on g8, queen on e7, bishop on b7, knight on c6, pawns on a7, b6, d6, e5, f7, h7.]

**1700 Level**

Black to move and win:

[Chess board image with White king on e1, queen on d2, bishop on c1, knight on f3, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d4, e4, g2, h2. Black king on e8, queen on h4, bishop on d6, knight on e5, pawns on a7, b7, c5, d6, f7, g7, h7.]

**1800 Level** 

White to move and win:

[Chess board image with White king on g1, queen on d2, bishop on g5, knight on f3, pawns on a2, b2, c4, d3, e4, f2, h2. Black king on g8, queen on f6, bishop on c8, knight on c6, pawns on a7, b7, d6, e5, f7, h7.]

Let me know if you would like me to generate more example puzzles at any levels! I can't play against you directly but hopefully these provide a fun challenge.

1. White to move and win:

[chess board image with white's pieces: king on e1, queen on d2, bishop on c4, knight on f3, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d3, e4, f2, g2, h2. Black's pieces: king on e8, queen on d7, bishop on c5, knight on f6, pawns on a7, b7, c6, d5, f7, g7, h7]

Solution:

1. Nh4 threatening the black queen

2. If Qxd2, Nf5 checkmate

3. If Q moves, Bxf7 checkmate

2. Black to move and win:

[chess board with white's pieces: king on e1, queen on d1, bishop on c4, knight on b1, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d3, e4, f2, g2. Black's pieces: king on e8, queen on d8, bishop on c5, knight on g5, pawns on a7, b7, c6, d5, f7, g6, h7]

Solution:

1. Ng3+ forking the king and queen

2. If Kf8, Qxd1 is checkmate

3. If K moves, NxQ wins the queen

3. White to move and draw:

[chess board with white's pieces: king on a1, queen on d2, bishop on c4, knight on b1, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d3, e4, f2, g2. Black's pieces: king on a8, queen on d8, bishop on c5, knight on b8, pawns on a7, b7, c6, d5, f7, g7, h7]

Solution:

1. Qd8+ forcing a queen trade

2. KxQ is a draw by insufficient material

Here are 10 more chess puzzles for a K5th grade students around 800 Elo:

1. White to move and win:

[chess board image with white's pieces: king on e1, queen on d1, bishop on c4, knight on g5, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d4, e5, f2, g2, h2. Black's pieces: king on e8, queen on d8, bishop on f8, knight on b8, pawns on a7, b7, c7, e6, f7, g7]

Solution: 

1. Qh5 threatening mate on h7

2. If g6, Nf7 is double checkmate

2. Black to move and win:

[chess board with white's pieces: king on e1, queen on d2, bishop on f1, knight on g1, pawns on a2, b2, c4, d4, e5, f2, g3, h2. Black's pieces: king on e8, queen on d6, bishop on c5, knight on f6, pawns on a7, b7, c7, d5, f7, g7]

Solution:

1. Qxg3+ winning the knight

3. White to move and draw: 

[chess board with white's pieces: king on a1, queen on b3, bishop on d2, knight on c3, pawns on a2, b4, d3, e4, f2, g3, h2. Black's pieces: king on h8, queen on d8, bishop on e7, knight on f6, pawns on a7, b7, c7, d6, e5, g7]

Solution: 

1. Qf3 attacking the queen and forcing a queen trade

2. Qxf3 is a draw by insufficient material

4. Black to move and win:

[chess board with white's pieces: king on g1, queen on e2, bishop on c4, knight on f3, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d4, e4, g2, h2. Black's pieces: king on g8, queen on f6, bishop on c8, knight on e5, pawns on a7, b7, c7, d5, f7, h7]

Solution: 

1. Qe7+ winning the queen via a fork

5. White to move and win:

[chess board with white's pieces: king on g1, queen on d1, bishop on f1, knight on e2, pawns on a2, b2, c4, d4, e3, g3, h2. Black's pieces: king on g8, queen on d8, bishop on c8, knight on f6, pawns on a7, b7, c7, d6, e5, f7, h7] 

Solution:

1. Nf4 attacking the queen and threatening Nh5#

2. If Qe7, Qxg8 is checkmate

6. Black to move and draw:

[chess board with white's pieces: king on a1, queen on d2, bishop on e2, knight on b1, pawns on a2, b3, c2, d3, e4, f2, g2. Black's pieces: king on a8, queen on d8, bishop on f8, knight on g8, pawns on a7, b6, c7, d6, e5, f7, g7]

Solution: 

1. Qd1+ forcing a queen trade 

2. Qxd1 is a draw by insufficient material

7. White to move and win:

[chess board with white's pieces: king on g1, queen on f3, bishop on c4, knight on e2, pawns on a2, b3, c2, d3, f4, g2, h2. Black's pieces: king on g8, queen on d8, bishop on e7, knight on f6, pawns on a7, b7, c7, d6, e5, h7]

Solution:

1. Qg4 threatening mate on h5

2. If Kh8, Ng3 is mate

8. Black to move and win:

[chess board with white's pieces: king on e1, queen on d2, bishop on c1, knight on g1, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d3, e4, f2, g3, h2. Black's pieces: king on e8, queen on d6, bishop on h4, knight on f6, pawns on a7, b7, c7, d5, f7, g7] 

Solution: 

1. Qh2+ winning the bishop via a fork

9. White to move and draw:

[chess board with white's pieces: king on a1, queen on d1, bishop on c4, knight on b1, pawns on a3, b2, c2, d3, e4, f2, g2, h2. Black's pieces: king on h8, queen on d8, bishop on e7, knight on f6, pawns on a7, b7, c6, e5, g7]

Solution:

1. Qd8+ trading queens 

2. KxQ is a draw by insufficient material

10. Black to move and win:

[chess board with white's pieces: king on g1, queen on d2, bishop on c1, knight on f3, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d4, e4, g2, h2. Black's pieces: king on g8, queen on f6, bishop on c8, knight on e5, pawns on a7, b7, c7, d5, f7, h7]

Solution:

1. Bg4 pinning the knight

2. If N moves, Qxg2# is checkmate

Here are 10 more chess puzzles where the opponent's king is in check:

1. White to move and checkmate:

[chess board with white's pieces: king on e1, queen on d1, bishop on c4, knight on f3, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d4, e5, f2, g2, h2. Black's pieces: king on e8, queen on d8, bishop on c8, knight on b8, pawns on a7, b7, c7, d6, f7, g7, h7.] 

Black's king on e8 is in check.

Solution: 

1. Qh5+ g6 

2. Qh7#

2. Black to move and checkmate:

[chess board with white's pieces: king on e1, queen on d2, bishop on c4, knight on b1, pawns on a2, b3, c2, d3, e4, f2, g2. Black's pieces: king on e8, queen on f6, bishop on c5, knight on g4, pawns on a7, b7, c6, d5, f7, g7, h7.]

Black's king on e8 is in check.

Solution:

1. Qg3+ Kh8

2. Nf7#

3. White to move and defend:

[chess board with white's pieces: king on e1, queen on d2, bishop on f1, knight on b1, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d4, e4, f2, g2. Black's pieces: king on e8, queen on d6, bishop on c5, knight on f6, pawns on a7, b7, c7, d5, f7, g7, h7.]

White's king on e1 is in check.

Solution: 

1. Be2 blocking the check

4. Black to move and defend:

[chess board with white's pieces: king on e1, queen on b3, bishop on c1, knight on g5, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d3, e4, f4, g2, h2. Black's pieces: king on e8, queen on d8, bishop on f8, knight on b8, pawns on a7, b7, c7, d6, e5, f7, g7.]

Black's king on e8 is in check.

Solution:

1. Kd8 moving out of check

5. White to move and checkmate:

[chess board with white's pieces: king on e1, queen on f7, bishop on c4, knight on g5, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d3, e4, f2, g2, h2. Black's pieces: king on e8, queen on d8, bishop on e7, knight on f6, pawns on a7, b7, c7, d6, f7, g7, h7.]

Black's king on e8 is in check.

Solution: 

1. Qh7#

6. Black to move and checkmate: 

[chess board with white's pieces: king on e1, queen on d2, bishop on c4, knight on f3, pawns on a2, b4, c2, d3, e4, f2, g2, h2. Black's pieces: king on e8, queen on c6, bishop on b7, knight on g4, pawns on a7, b7, c7, d6, f7, g7, h7.]

White's king on e1 is in check.

Solution:

1. Bxf3+ gxf3 

2. Qg2#

7. White to move and defend:

[chess board with white's pieces: king on e1, queen on d2, bishop on f1, knight on b1, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d3, e4, f2, g2, h2. Black's pieces: king on e8, queen on c5, bishop on b4, knight on c6, pawns on a7, b7, d7, e6, f7, g7, h7.] 

White's king on e1 is in check.

Solution:

1. Nc3 blocking the check

8. Black to move and defend: 

[chess board with white's pieces: king on e1, queen on d4, bishop on c4, knight on f3, pawns on a2, b4, c2, d3, e5, f2, g2, h2. Black's pieces: king on e8, queen on d8, bishop on e7, knight on c6, pawns on a7, b7, c7, d6, f7, g7, h7.]

Black's king on e8 is in check.

Solution: 

1. Kf8 moving out of check

9. White to move and checkmate:

[chess board with white's pieces: king on e1, queen on f4, bishop on c4, knight on g5, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d3, e4, f2, g2, h2. Black's pieces: king on e8, queen on d8, bishop on f8, knight on b8, pawns on a7, b7, c7, d6, e6, f7, g7, h7.]

Black's king on e8 is in check.

Solution:

1. Qh6+ Ke7

2. Nf7#

10. Black to move and checkmate:

[chess board with white's pieces: king on e1, queen on d1, bishop on f1, knight on g1, pawns on a2, b2, c2, d4, e4, f2, g2, h2. Black's pieces: king on e8, queen on c5, bishop on b7, knight on c6, pawns on a7, b7, d6, e5, f7, g7, h7.]

White's king on e1 is in check. 

Solution:

1. Bc6+ bxc6

2. Qb6#