Your puzzle rating increases or decreases similarly to your chess rating. When you solve a puzzle, its rating is compared to your current puzzle rating, and the points you earn or lose depend on that comparison.
For example:
If you have a puzzle rating of 2000 and solve a puzzle rated at 1000, you won’t earn many points. However, if you get that puzzle wrong, you’ll lose a significant number of points.
Conversely, if you solve a puzzle rated at 2500 with your 2000 puzzle rating, you’ll gain many points. If you get it wrong, you won’t lose much.
There is one key difference between puzzle ratings and chess ratings: Your puzzle rating will always increase when you solve a puzzle correctly, even if it’s an easy one. In chess, if you defeat an opponent with a much lower rating, you might not gain any points, but with puzzles, you will always earn at least one point for a correct solution.
Pending puzzles
Occasionally, you might encounter a puzzle where you receive one point even if you get it wrong. These are 'pending puzzles,' which have not yet been rated. About 5% of the puzzles you encounter will be new and unrated — You will never lose points for getting a pending puzzle wrong.
How puzzle ratings are determined
When a puzzle is first added, its rating is determined by who is able to solve it. After a set period, the puzzle’s rating becomes locked and does not change further. In some cases, if a puzzle’s rating is found to be inaccurate, Chess.com may adjust it to better reflect its difficulty.