Written by Franco Masetti and Roberto Messa, 1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners is widely considered the gold standard for tactical training below 1400 ELO. Unlike opening books that give you lists of moves, this book is a massive workbook of puzzles divided by theme.
The exercises are not random. They are curated to train the six most critical tactical motifs:
PGN is a standard file format for chess games. It allows for the storage of game metadata (like the players' names, the date, and the result) and the moves of the game in a human-readable and easily parsed format. 1001 chess exercises for beginners pgn
First, let’s clarify the source material. Published by New In Chess, 1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners is not just a puzzle book—it is a curriculum. Unlike random online puzzles, these 1,001 problems are sorted by theme and difficulty.
The book covers:
The PGN solution often shows only one line. In your head, ask: “What if the opponent doesn’t move the piece I expect?” If there is a refutation, you haven’t solved it.
You can import the PGN into software like Chessable or Anki (with the chess add-on). This allows spaced repetition. You will see the fork you failed yesterday again today. This fixes tactical blind spots permanently. Written by Franco Masetti and Roberto Messa, 1001
If you have acquired the PGN file for this collection, the method of study is as important as the material itself. To get the most out of the 1001 exercises, follow these guidelines:
