The 30-DayChess Challenge.
30 days · 60 puzzles · 1000 → 1850
Fifteen minutes a day for a month: two puzzles to solve with a pencil, taken from real games. The ten tactical patterns come round three times, a little harder each time, so each one comes back ten days later. You score yourself on a tracker, and every solution is explained at the back.
One payment, on Stripe’s secure page: card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or PayPal. The PDF is emailed to you right after payment.
- A4 PDF to print, 41 pages
- 60 puzzles, two a day, rated 1000 to about 1850
- Every solution explained, most with the tempting move that fails
Ten patterns, three rounds.
- Round 1 · Days 1 to 10 · 1002–1323
See the pattern
Ten days, ten patterns, one a day, with puzzles rated 1002 to 1323. Each page opens with what the pattern is and the signals that give it away. Find it in the position, then write your line.
- Round 2 · Days 11 to 20 · 1282–1602
Look one move deeper
The same ten patterns come back, harder: from 1282 to 1602. The pattern is often hidden behind a first move that forces the reply, such as a check or a capture. Write your opponent’s answer before you write your next move.
- Round 3 · Days 21 to 30 · 1582–1839
Calculate to the end
The last ten days, from 1582 to 1839, bring the hardest puzzles of the book. Write the whole line, to the end, before you check: that is the habit these thirty days are about.
One page, about fifteen minutes.
- Read the reminderWhat the day’s pattern is, and the signals that give it away.
- Solve two puzzlesWrite the whole line with a pencil before you check.
- Check and score1, ½ or 0 on the tracker. Each round is out of 20.
Pages from the book.
Every pattern, three times.
Players who want a daily habit.
- Players rated from about 1000 to 1800 who want a short training habit, every day, on paper rather than on a phone.
- You need the rules and the basic tactics: each page reminds you of the pattern it trains.
- Parents and coaches can print it for a young player: one page a day, scored on the tracker.
Your questions, answered.
Is it right for my level?
Yes, if you are rated from about 1000 to 1800. The ten patterns come round three times, a little harder each round, with puzzles from about 1000 to 1850: you keep progressing without losing your footing. You only need the rules and basic tactics, and each page reminds you of the pattern it trains.
How long does it take each day?
Fifteen minutes: two puzzles to solve with a pencil, then you score yourself on the tracker. Short enough to keep going for thirty days, regular enough for the patterns to become reflexes.
How are the solutions explained?
All of them, at the back of the book, most with the tempting move that fails: that is often where you learn the most.
What if I miss a day?
No problem: pick up where you stopped. What counts is doing all thirty pages, not following the calendar to the letter.
Can I print it more than once?
As often as you like: the whole book at once or one day at a time, for you or for a young player. The pages are A4, ready to print; on US Letter paper, choose “Fit to page”.
When will I get it?
Right away. The moment you pay, an email brings you the download link, usually within a few minutes, and it keeps working whenever you want to download the book again. Anything wrong? Check your spam folder or write to us at hello@knightsnotebook.com: we will send it again.
Is payment secure?
Yes. You pay by card or Apple Pay through Stripe, one of the most widely used payment platforms in the world, and other options may be offered depending on your country. We never see your card details. It is a single payment, with no subscription.
How is it different from the monthly notebook?
The challenge builds a habit in thirty days: two puzzles a day, with a tracker, to keep and do again whenever you like. The monthly notebook then takes over, to keep training all year: every month, sixty new positions at your level, across all the themes. The two go together.
Where do the puzzles come from?
From real games. They come from the Lichess puzzle database, where each one has been tried at least 800 times, so its difficulty is measured, not guessed. Every solution was checked with the Stockfish engine, and none of them is in our other books or in the monthly notebook.
Other ways to train.
Chess Puzzles
Ten tactical themes, each with a short lesson, and every solution explained: 150 or 300 puzzles, none of them in both.
The monthly notebook
Your regular training: every month, a new notebook of sixty puzzles at your level, across all the themes. No commitment, cancel online.
Start day 1 tonight.
Two puzzles a day for thirty days, in a PDF to print.
Done all thirty days? Keep going with the monthly notebook: sixty new positions at your level, every month.