Chess Problems According to Your Elo (from 400 to 1400)

If you've already passed the basic level and want to really improve your chess skills, this section is for you. Between 400 and 1400 Elo points, the game begins to become more interesting and challenging. It's no longer just about moving pieces without mistakes, but also about understanding how to combine tactics, plan attacks, and defend yourself better.

♟️ Level 450–500 Elo
⚙️ Level Objective:
At this level, players begin to better understand the mobility and tactical value of knights. This problem focuses on how to use the knight to force the enemy king into an awkward position and gain important material.

📌 Topic: Knight attack and material gain.
👁️ Difficulty: Moderate. Requires calculating forced moves and thinking about improving the position.
🔍 Focus: Displace the enemy king with checks and capture an important piece.

♟️ Level 500–550 Elo
⚙️ Level Objective:
At this level, players begin to understand the relative value of pieces and the importance of combinations involving tactical captures and attacks on the enemy structure. This problem develops the ability to seize the initiative after a precise capture.

📌 Topic: Tactical Capture and Rook Activation.
👁️ Difficulty: Moderate. Requires calculation of several forced moves.
🔍 Focus: Sacrifice or capture to open lines and improve the activity of major pieces.

♟️ Level 550–600 Elo
⚙️ Level Objective:
In this section, players begin to better master endgame play and the coordination between minor pieces and pawns. This problem shows how the activity of the king, passed pawns, and knights can be decisive in achieving mate.

📌 Topic: Endgame maneuvers with passed pawns and an active king.
👁️ Difficulty: Moderate. Requires visualizing several moves and understanding the importance of pawn advancement.
🔍 Focus: Take advantage of the activity of the king and pawns to create promotion and mate threats.

♟️ Level 650–700 Elo
⚙️ Level Target:
At this level, players are more comfortable with exchanges and tactics involving major pieces, especially in highly tense positions. This problem teaches how to calculate sequences involving sacrifices and exchanges to simplify positions or gain a material advantage.

📌 Topic: Tactical Sacrifice and Simplification.
👁️ Difficulty: Moderate. Requires calculating forced moves and evaluating the consequences of an exchange.
🔍 Focus: Evaluate whether accepting the sacrifice leads to an advantageous position or a favorable simplification.

♟️ Level 700–750 Elo
⚙️ Level Objective:
At this level, players already understand basic endgame concepts and the importance of pawn promotion. This problem is a classic example of a king-pawn endgame, where precision in advancing and defending pawns defines the game.

📌 Topic: Endgame with promotion and quick mate.
👁️ Difficulty: Beginner-intermediate. Focuses on recognizing promotion and the inevitable mate.
🔍 Focus: Visualize the pawn race and anticipate mate in a few moves.

♟️ Level 750–800 Elo
⚙️ Level Objective:
At this stage, players are more familiar with complex exchanges and tactics involving major pieces in closed or semi-exposed positions. This problem shows how to calculate a series of exchanges that can change the course of the game.

📌 Topic: Tactical Exchanges and Positional Evaluation.
👁️ Difficulty: Moderate. Requires precise calculation and evaluation of the outcome after exchanges.
🔍 Focus: Analyze whether to accept exchanges and how it affects piece structure and activity.

♟️ Level 800–850 Elo
⚙️ Level Objective:
In this section, players begin to understand the importance of opening lines and making exchanges to improve their position. This problem highlights how to sacrifice or capture to gain space and activate pieces, especially bishops and rooks.

📌 Topic: Strategic Capture and Opening Lines.
👁️ Difficulty: Moderate. Requires tactical calculation and positional assessment.
🔍 Focus: Recognize when to make exchanges to gain initiative.

♟️ Level 850–900 Elo

⚙️ Level Objective:
At this level, players can already visualize forced exchanges and begin to consider longer-term plans, especially related to promotion and piece activity. This problem introduces a tactical sequence that leads to a dominant position and paves the way for a very favorable endgame.

📌 Topic: Tactical exchanges and the creation of a passed pawn.
👁️ Difficulty: Intermediate. Precise calculation and long-term vision are required.
🔍 Focus: Start with an exchange sacrifice to gain lasting initiative and winning play.

♟️ Level 900–950 Elo

⚙️ Level Objective:
In this section, players begin to visualize longer combinations, valuing king safety and tactical threats beyond the next move. This problem presents a forcing sequence with multiple checks and a technical endgame that requires precision.

📌 Topic: Intermediate checks, simplification, and technical endgames.
👁️ Difficulty: Intermediate. Involves forcing calculation and material management in the endgame.
🔍 Focus: Actively use the king and queen to neutralize threats and simplify.

♟️ Level 950–1000 Elo

⚙️ Level Objective:
At this level, players begin to better understand the coordination between heavy pieces (rooks and queen) and how to punish the enemy king in open positions. This problem focuses on calculating sacrifices and forcing sequences to weaken the opponent's defense.

📌 Topic: Positional sacrifice with pressure on the enemy king.
👁️ Difficulty: Intermediate-high. Involves calculating several moves with medium-term tactical ideas.
🔍 Focus: Open lines against the opponent's king and maintain constant pressure.

♟️ Level 1000–1050 Elo
⚙️ Level Objective:
At this level, players have already mastered the basics and are beginning to apply more solid strategic concepts. This problem combines sacrifice, tactical simplification, and piece activity in a complex but instructive scenario.

📌 Theme: Exchange sacrifice + pressure on the king.
👁️ Difficulty: Intermediate. It involves visualizing forced exchanges, understanding when to give up material, and how to maintain the initiative.
🔍 Focus: Sacrifice a rook for a minor piece and take advantage of opponents' lack of coordination.

♟️ Level 1050–1100 Elo
⚙️ Level Objective:
Players at this level already understand concepts such as castling, piece coordination, and basic assessment of pawn structures. This problem introduces a critical positional decision, where Black seeks to destabilize the White king in exchange for a calculated simplification.

📌 Theme: Initiative by sacrificing the exchange.
👁️ Difficulty: Medium-high. Requires anticipating multiple captures and assessing positional compensation.
🔍 Focus: Delivering an exchange to change the dynamics of the game.

♟️ Level 1100–1150 Elo
⚙️ Level Objective:
Players at this level begin to understand more complex tactical combinations and the importance of coordination between the queen and minor pieces to mate or win decisive material. This problem tests the ability to execute a sequence of forced checks that ends in mate.

📌 Topic: Checkmate by coordination between queen and bishop.
👁️ Difficulty: Medium. Requires visualizing several moves in advance and forcing the opposing king into a network of checks.
🔍 Focus: Practice precise calculation of forced lines and the execution of mates with coordinated pieces.

♟️ Level 1150–1200 Elo
⚙️ Level Objective:
Players in this range begin to handle tactical threats and combinations with double checks and mates in a few moves. This problem encourages the recognition of tactical sacrifices to open lines toward the enemy king.

📌 Topic: Tactical Sacrifice with Double Check and Mate.
👁️ Difficulty: Medium. Requires visualization of the sequence of checks and sacrifices to force the king's defeat.
🔍 Focus: Understand how to generate mating attacks through double checks and sacrifices.

♟️ Level 1200–1250 Elo
⚙️ Level Objective:
Players begin to delve deeper into the calculation of variations and the selective exchange of pieces to gain material or positional advantage. This problem involves evaluating tactical captures and anticipating the opponent's response to maintain the initiative.

📌 Topic: Sacrifice and exchange to gain positional control.
👁️ Difficulty: Medium-high. Requires the calculation of several moves and the assessment of changes in piece structure and activity.
🔍 Focus: Evaluate the capture of pieces and anticipate counterplay to decide when and how to exchange.

♟️ Level 1250–1300 Elo
⚙️ Level Objective:
At this level, players learn to combine tactical threats with positional maneuvers to gain material or create weaknesses in the enemy camp. The problem encourages the execution of combination attacks involving sacrifices and exchanges of key pieces.

📌 Topic: Combination attack with sacrifice and exchange of queens.
👁️ Difficulty: Medium-high. Requires calculation of several variations and accurate assessment of queen exchanges in complex positions.
🔍 Focus: Develop tactical awareness to know when to sacrifice or exchange pieces to gain a decisive advantage.

♟️ Level 1300–1350 Elo
⚙️ Level Objective:
Players at this level improve their ability to calculate complex tactical combinations involving forced checks, pawn promotions, and sacrifices to gain decisive material or mate. This problem requires tactical vision to successfully execute a series of captures and pawn promotions.

📌 Topic: Forced checks, promotion, and material gain.
👁️ Difficulty: High. Requires anticipating several forced moves and evaluating tactical promotions.
🔍 Focus: Practice in-depth calculation of variations involving checks and promotions to secure an advantage.

♟️ Level 1350–1400 Elo
⚙️ Level Objective:
Players at this level develop the ability to combine mating threats with attacks on key pieces and take advantage of queen and rook activity to force a win. This problem highlights the importance of a coordinated attack and the effective use of checks.

📌 Topic: Combined attack with checks and queen-rook coordination.
👁️ Difficulty: Medium-high. Requires tactical vision to maintain the initiative and force the enemy king into a network of checks.
🔍 Focus: Improve the ability to calculate forcing lines and the efficient use of heavy pieces in attack.

🏆 Bonus Problems
⚙️ Objective:
These problems are designed to challenge and strengthen your tactical and strategic skills beyond the basic Elo range we've covered. They're ideal for practicing calculation, combinatorial vision, and creativity in less common positions or with hidden tactical resources.