Chess Puzzles
Chess Puzzles is a free, unlimited chess tactics trainer. Each puzzle is picked near your rating from the Lichess puzzle database. Solve it and your rating goes up, miss it and it goes down, with no daily limit.
Rush
Three minutes. Solve as many puzzles as you can, starting easy and getting harder. A wrong move costs five seconds and a strike, and three strikes end the run. Rush does not change your rating.
puzzles solved
Loading a puzzle.
Position as text (FEN)
Rating
This page shows Google ads. They are how the unlimited puzzles stay free.
How it works
Each puzzle starts right after your opponent moves. Find the best move for the side at the bottom of the board and keep going until the puzzle ends. A solve raises your rating and a miss lowers it. The next puzzle is picked near your rating, so the level follows you.
Ratings at a glance
| Rating | Title |
|---|---|
| Under 800 | Novice |
| 800 to 1199 | Learner |
| 1200 to 1499 | Club player |
| 1500 to 1799 | Strong |
| 1800 to 2099 | Expert |
| 2100 to 2399 | Master |
| 2400 and up | Grandmaster |
Questions
What is Rush?
Rush is a three-minute run mode on the same page. Puzzles start easy and get harder. A wrong move costs five seconds and a strike, three strikes end the run, and your score is the number of puzzles solved. Rush does not change your rating, and your best score is kept on this device.
How is my puzzle rating worked out?
It is an Elo rating, like a chess rating. Each puzzle has a rating from the Lichess database. If you solve a puzzle rated above you, you gain a lot; if you solve one well below you, you gain a little; a miss costs more the easier the puzzle was. Early on, ratings move faster, and they settle after about 20 puzzles.
Is this the same as my Lichess puzzle rating?
No. It is a separate rating that starts at 1000 here, so the numbers are not comparable with Lichess or any other site.
What counts as a miss?
The first wrong move ends the puzzle, as on Lichess, and the correct line is shown. Show solution also counts as a miss. A move that gives checkmate is always accepted.
Is there a daily limit?
No. Play as many puzzles as you like. Each new puzzle is picked near your current rating and avoids ones you saw recently.
Do I need an account?
No. Without one, your rating is kept on this device. Signing in with an email link keeps it across devices and lets you appear on the leaderboard if you choose.
How do the leaderboards work?
Signed-in players can opt in under a display name. The board shows the top 100 by rating and the top 100 by rating gained this week. The rating service checks that every report is for a real puzzle taken in a plausible time and works out the rating itself, so the browser cannot send a rating.
Where do the puzzles come from?
From the Lichess puzzle database, released under the CC0 licence. Move rules are handled by chess.js, used under its BSD licence.
Are there ads?
Yes. This page shows Google ads, which is how the unlimited puzzles stay free. The daily games have none.
Puzzles come from the Lichess puzzle database, released under CC0. Chess rules are handled by chess.js, used under its BSD licence.
Tips for Chess Puzzles
- Check every forcing move first: checks, captures and threats, in that order.
- Look at what the opponent's last move changed. Puzzles start right after a mistake or a sacrifice.
- Ratings settle after about 20 puzzles, so do not read much into the first few results.
- If you cannot see it in a minute, use Show solution. It counts as a miss, but reading the line is still practice.
- Easier puzzles gain little when you solve them and cost a lot when you miss, so a streak of easy wins is not a shortcut.