Play Chess Better: 2025 Chess.com Daily Chess Championship - Round 1
2025 Daily Chess Championship - Round 1
Good morning chess players!
Just like last year, I won the first round of Daily Chess Championship 2025 with a perfect score, securing victories in all my games. This year’s tournament brought a mix of challenging and exciting moments, and I’m glad to share some of the most captivating fragments from my games. To make it more interactive and engaging, I’ve presented these highlights as a series of seven puzzles for you to solve.
Each puzzle captures a key turning point, offering a glimpse into the strategic and tactical decisions that shaped the outcomes. Among them, the first puzzle holds a special place in my Daily Chess Championship career. In that game, my opponent had a rapid chess rating of over 2000, making it a tough challenge. I managed to calculate more than ten moves ahead, which is always a rewarding experience, especially when it leads to a precise and decisive victory.
The puzzles vary in difficulty, providing something for everyone. You’ll encounter complex scenarios that require deep calculation, as well as more straightforward tasks that test your pattern recognition and tactical awareness. Whether you're a seasoned player or just starting your chess journey, I encourage you to give each puzzle a try.
As you work through these positions, take a moment to immerse yourself in the thought process behind each move. Imagine the tension of the clock ticking,
So, are you ready to test your chess strength? Dive in, challenge yourself, and see if you can find the best moves. Good luck, and most importantly—have fun!
If you prefer you can solve also these puzzles on YouTube 
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Puzzle #1
This puzzle is special and one of my favorites in my Daily Chess Championship career.
Here the solution is immediately visible. But you can cover it up and try to solve it by yourself.
If you succeed and after some moves Re1+ appears on the chessboard, then congratulations—you’ve found the key move! Now you can read this:
The position on the board is, to put it mildly, very unusual. I had just sacrificed my rook in one move, forcing my opponent to capture it. It turns out that Re2-e1+ is the only winning move here. Any other move would lose. I couldn’t capture the white rook on a2 with either my rook or queen because the white queen could deliver checkmate by capturing my bishop on f8. On the other hand, I also couldn’t capture the white bishop on b4 with a pawn, as that would result in losing my rook on e2.
I’m not sure what’s more interesting—the events leading up to this position or what happened next. In any case, my opponent, with a rapid rating of over 2000, finished in second place in the group, so both of us had to calculate carefully. I initiated the entire combination back on move 23, predicting more than ten moves ahead.
Puzzle #2
It is not obvious, but White can win a pawn in a very clever way.
| Never guess! First, think for as long as you need, then make the best move. Finally, check the solution and comments. |
Puzzle #3
In chess, it’s usually not about giving as many checks as possible. However, if it brings us closer to checkmate, then why not? In such cases, let’s give as many checks as we need to secure victory.
| Never guess! First, think for as long as you need, then make the best move. Finally, check the solution and comments. |
Puzzle #4
Let's make a little break and try to solve the next puzzle in 10 seconds:
| Never guess! First, think for as long as you need, then make the best move. Finally, check the solution and comments. |
Puzzle #5
Where is the best place to retreat the Queen? Where will the Queen feel the safest?
| Never guess! First, think for as long as you need, then make the best move. Finally, check the solution and comments. |
Puzzle #6
The eternal question: short castle or long castle? King to the right or to the left? Both options are available in this move.
| Never guess! First, think for as long as you need, then make the best move. Finally, check the solution and comments. |
Puzzle #7
If you decide to castle, remember a few important things afterward:
- Keep your king safe. Even after castling, don't neglect your king's safety. Avoid weakening the pawn structure around it unless absolutely necessary.
- Activate your rooks. Castling connects your rooks, so use this advantage by placing them on open or semi-open files.
- Don't delay development. Make sure all your pieces are well-placed before starting an attack. Castling is part of development, not a substitute for it.
- Watch out for enemy attacks. Be aware of your opponent’s attacking potential, especially if they castle on the opposite side.
- Consider the middlegame plan. After castling, think about your strategy for the middlegame. Should you attack, defend, or maneuver your pieces into stronger positions?
Please find the best way to take advantage of it.
| Never guess! First, think for as long as you need, then make the best move. Finally, check the solution and comments. |
As you can see in the table below: no losses, no draws, only victories. It looks simple, but unlike the previous year, it wasn’t easy at all. Although all the opponents had much lower Daily ratings, some of them had quite decent ratings in Rapid and Blitz chess. Thanks to that, I was able to prepare this set of puzzles.
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If you like this format of puzzles based on Chess.com games, you'll find more on:
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Blog:
Winner of 2023 Daily Chess Championship: