Can You Solve This Month's Chess Puzzle

Also, this week, everything about chess engines, and using a chess calculator to upgrade your training.

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July 27, 2026 1:15pm EDT

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Dear Chess Player,

Greetings from the US Chess Sales weekly newsletter. This week, our featured story brings you July’s Chess puzzle. Regardless of your playing style, this intricate position will test your tactical understanding, calculation, and pattern recognition. Dive in to solve this month's brain-teaser and sharpen your endgame calculation!

Discover how to elevate your preparation in this week’s US Chess Sales first blog post, "Use A Chess Calculator To Upgrade Your Training." We explore how digital calculators can streamline opening prep, verify tactical calculations, and analyze endgame positions with absolute precision. The post offers practical tips on integrating these tools into your daily study routine to achieve faster, measurable results.

Finally, the US Chess Sales' second blog post of the week, "Your Complete Guide to the Chess Engine," demystifies the software shaping modern chess strategy. We trace the evolution from basic calculations to neural networks, explaining how engines evaluate positions and suggest novelties. Read on to learn how to properly configure and utilize these powerful tools without ruining your own natural intuition.

Wishing you great games this week,
The US Chess Sales Team

2026: USCF July Puzzle

Black has secured a material advantage and is set to promote. It looks like white can do little but await the inevitable. However, some clever play means white can play and mate in three, can you see how? Why not test your endgame skill with this puzzle?

You can find the solution at the bottom of this newsletter.

Featured Blog Posts

Use A Chess Calculator To Upgrade Your Training

Chess, like every part of life, has been overtaken by computers. Not only can they play faster, more accurately, and more strongly than humans, but they also have infiltrated the world of chess training. Everywhere you look, an AI chess coach is trying to teach you your next move, or a chess computer program wants to train against you. So, how can you use these new tools to the best of your ability, and when should you ignore the computer and stick to the old-fashioned way?

Learn More

Your Complete Guide to the Chess Engine

Chess engines are a convenient way to play chess. If you’re playing bots on any of your chess games, you’re playing the embedded engine. They’re also great for stretching yourself against a known quantity, as you can specify the ELO rating for the engine. Most will adapt to your play over time to give you an increasing level of challenge as you improve.

The other real strength of chess engines is analysis and study of completed games. If you ever wanted to know what you should have played, where you went wrong, or what mistakes your opponent made, a chess engine will tell you.