Short answer: Beyond puzzles, you can set slower games with one note on a moment to change, positions where the student finds a plan, endgame drills, opening recall from memory, annotating their own games, and teaching tasks where they explain a position to someone else. Pick two or three types a week, keep each small, and tie them to the last lesson.
Puzzles are the default chess homework for good reason. They are quick to set, easy to check, and the student has to find the answer. But a student who only ever does puzzles gets a narrow picture of the game, and plenty of them get bored by week six.
This post gives you twenty other ideas, grouped by what they train, plus a way to choose between them without adding hours to your week. Every idea is small enough to set in a sentence.
Why set homework other than puzzles?
Variety keeps students interested and covers parts of the game that puzzles don't touch. A puzzle tells the student that a tactic exists. It does not teach them how to find a plan in a quiet position, how to convert a won ending, or how to learn from their own mistakes.
Puzzles still earn their place as the backbone, especially when they follow the theme from your last lesson. Our guide on chess homework for students covers how much to set overall. The ideas below are the extras you wrap around them.
What homework trains tactics and calculation without being a puzzle set?
These five ideas train the same skills as puzzles from a different angle, which helps when a student has gone numb to the usual format.
- Spot the theme. Give a mixed set and ask the student to name the tactic before solving it. Naming the idea builds pattern recognition
- Write the first move only. The student records just the key first move for ten positions, then you go through them together. It is fast to do and fast to check
- Solve without touching the pieces. The student works the answer out in their head before moving anything. It builds visualisation, the skill behind calculation
- Find all the checks, captures, and threats. In a given position, the student lists every forcing move before choosing. It trains the habit of looking before leaping
- Make your own puzzle. After a lesson on a theme, the student sets up a position containing it and writes down the solution. Building a puzzle shows you whether they really understand the idea
If tactics are your main focus, our guide on how to teach chess tactics goes through the order to teach them in.
What homework works for games and review?
Games and review turn real mistakes into the next lesson. These five ideas make a student's own play the material.
- One slow game a week. Longer time controls give students room to think, and the task is to play it carefully, not to win
- The one-moment note. After a game, the student writes down the single moment they would change. One moment is far easier to do than a full analysis
- Find where it went wrong. For a lost game, the student finds the turning point before you tell them. Even a rough guess is useful
- Play the winning side of a won game. The student replays a game they won and explains why it was winning. It reinforces what they did well
- Blunder check habit. In every game this week, the student pauses before each move to ask what the opponent threatens. You are setting a habit, not a score
What homework helps with endgames and openings?
Short, repeatable drills suit endgames and openings best. Both reward repetition, and both can be done in ten minutes.
- Basic endgame drills. Pick one simple ending, such as king and pawn against king, and have the student play it out from both sides until it feels automatic
- Convert the extra piece. Set up a position where one side is clearly ahead and ask the student to win it against a friend or engine, with a limit on how long it should take
- Opening recall. The student plays the first moves of their repertoire from memory, with no notes, and flags anywhere they hesitated
- Why, not just what. For one opening line, the student writes a sentence explaining what each of the first few moves is for. Understanding lasts longer than memorising
- Opening to middlegame plan. After a typical opening, the student names two plans for each side. It links the opening to what comes next
What creative and low-screen homework can you set?
These five suit students who are tired of screens, or younger students who learn well by doing and explaining.
- Teach someone. The student explains one idea from the lesson to a parent, sibling, or friend. If they can teach it, they know it
- Play with a handicap. A game where one side starts without a piece teaches students to play for activity and to convert an advantage
- Watch one game and pause. The student watches a famous or recent game and pauses to guess a move before each reveal, noting how many they matched
- Position of the week. You send one interesting position and the student sends back their plan in two sentences. It suits busy weeks when a full set is too much
- Piece swap challenge. The student plays a casual game where they must name the best and worst piece on the board after every few moves. It builds the habit of judging activity
How do you choose which ideas to set?
Start with what you taught in the lesson, then pick the format that suits the student. The table below is a rough guide, and it is only a starting point.
| If the student | Try |
|---|---|
| Is bored of puzzles | Spot the theme, make your own puzzle, position of the week |
| Keeps repeating the same mistake | The one-moment note, blunder check habit |
| Wins material but fails to finish | Convert the extra piece, basic endgame drills |
| Is preparing for a tournament | Opening recall, one slow game a week |
| Is young and easily distracted | Teach someone, play with a handicap, watch and pause |
Change one thing at a time. If you swap the format and the difficulty in the same week, you won't know which one helped.
Want the puzzle backbone sorted?
Chess Tactics Mastery: Coach Edition is 12 themed months plus a bonus Checkmates month, with 25 puzzles a day in an interactive app or on printable pages. One payment of £97 ($130), unlimited students, no logins. Then you can spend your own time on the ideas above.
What does a mixed week of homework look like?
A mixed week keeps one theme as the backbone and rotates the extras around it. Here is a made-up example for an intermediate student whose lesson covered a single tactic. The numbers are illustrative, not a recommendation for every student.
| Day | Task | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Mon, Tue, Thu | Themed puzzles from the lesson | 10 minutes |
| Wednesday | Opening recall from memory | 10 minutes |
| Friday | Position of the week, plan in two sentences | 5 minutes |
| Saturday | One slow game plus the one-moment note | 30 to 45 minutes |
| Sunday | Rest | None |
At the next lesson, you ask which task was hardest and what the student wrote in their one-moment note. That single question checks three or four tasks at once, and the note gives you a real position to teach from.
How do you add variety without more prep?
Keep a short menu and let the work come from the student. Most of these ideas need no preparation from you, because the material is the student's own games, their own repertoire, or a position you pick in two minutes.
- Write your favourite eight ideas on one page and reuse it every term
- Let students pick one extra task from the menu each week, which gives them ownership
- Rotate the extras monthly, and keep the main theme steady
- Ask for short written answers, because they are quicker to check than a long analysis
If you're still working out how much to set, read how much chess homework you should set first. Adding variety does not mean adding minutes.
What should you avoid when mixing homework types?
Avoid stacking too many formats in one week. Three or four tasks is plenty, and two is fine for a younger student. A menu of ten tasks looks generous and gets ignored.
Avoid tasks you can't check. If you will never look at the one-moment note, the student will learn that you don't care about it. Pick fewer tasks and follow up on every one, as we cover in why chess students don't practice between lessons.
FAQ
What can I set as chess homework besides puzzles?
You can set slower games with a short note on one moment to change, endgame drills, opening recall from memory, plan-finding positions, annotating their own games, and teaching tasks. Choose two or three types a week and tie them to the last lesson.
How many types of homework should I set in a week?
Two to four is plenty for most students. Keep one main theme as the backbone and add one or two extras. A long menu looks generous but tends to be ignored, so smaller and checked is better than bigger and forgotten.
Is playing games good chess homework?
Yes, if the game has a purpose. A slow game with a short note on one moment to change teaches far more than a quick game with no reflection. Tell the student what to focus on, such as checking the opponent's threats.
How do I check homework that isn't puzzles?
Ask one question at the start of the lesson, such as which task was hardest, and ask to see the one-moment note or the plan they wrote. Short written answers are quick to read and give you a position to teach from.
What chess homework works for young children?
Short, hands-on tasks work well: teaching a parent one idea, a game with a handicap, or watching a game and pausing to guess the next move. Keep each task to a few minutes and make the start and finish clear.
What if my student only wants to play games?
Use that. Set the games, but add a small task around them, such as noting one moment to change or checking the opponent's threats before each move. The games become practice, and you keep the student's enthusiasm.
Where to go next
Read the complete guide to chess homework for students, or see how Chess Tactics Mastery: Coach Edition covers the puzzle side for you. For the tactics itself, start with how to teach chess tactics to beginners.
