A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a puzzle

Chess puzzle

A chess puzzle is a puzzle in which knowledge of the pieces and rules of chess is used to solve logically a chess-related problem. The longstanding popularity of chess has paved the way for a rich tradition of such chess-related puzzles and composed problems, which assume a familiarity with the...

 set by somebody using chess piece

Chess piece

Chess pieces or chessmen are the pieces deployed on a chessboard to play the game of chess. The pieces vary in abilities, giving them different values in the game...

s on a chess

Chess

Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...

 board, that presents the solver with a particular task to be achieved. For instance, a position might be given with the instruction that White is to move first, and checkmate Black in two moves against any possible defense. A person who creates such problems is known as a composer

Chess composer

A chess composer is a person who creates endgame studies or chess problems. He usually specializes in a particular genre, e.g. endgame studies, twomovers, threemovers, moremovers, helpmates, selfmates, fairy problems...

. There is a good deal of specialized jargon used in connection with chess problems; see chess problem terminology

Chess problem terminology

This is a list of terms used in chess problems. For a list of unorthodox pieces used in chess problems, see fairy chess piece. For a list of terms used in chess is general, see chess terminology.- A :*Actual play - see post-key play....

 for a list.

The term "chess problem" is not sharply defined: there is no clear demarcation between chess compositions on the one hand and puzzles or tactical exercises on the other.