Daily Chess
Daily Chess is a free daily chess tactics puzzle drawn from the Lichess puzzle database. Find the best move, then the follow-up, to win material or deliver checkmate. Monday's puzzle is the easiest and Sunday's is the hardest.
Loading today's puzzle.
Position as text (FEN)
Next puzzle in .
How to play
The position shows a game where the opponent has just moved. Find the best move for the side shown at the bottom of the board. Click a piece to see where it can go, then click the square. After a correct move the opponent replies and you continue until the puzzle is won.
Questions
Where do the chess puzzles come from?
From the Lichess puzzle database, which is released under the Creative Commons CC0 licence. Each puzzle starts from a position in a real game, and Lichess rates its difficulty from how many players have solved it.
How does the difficulty change through the week?
Monday's puzzle comes from the easiest rating band, roughly 800 to 1250, and each day is harder than the last. Sunday's comes from the 2150 to 2600 band.
What counts as a slip?
A wrong move or a hint. You can keep trying after a wrong move, but your result shows the number of slips, and a clean solve has none.
Do I have to find the exact solution?
You have to find the puzzle's solution move by move, with one exception: any move that gives checkmate is accepted.
Can I see the solution?
Yes. Show solution plays it out on the board, and the puzzle then counts as not solved for today.
What is the rating shown on the page?
It is the Lichess puzzle rating. Players rated near that number solve the puzzle about half the time.
Do I need an account?
No. Signing in is optional and only keeps your streak and achievements on every device.
Puzzles come from the Lichess puzzle database, released under CC0. Chess rules are handled by chess.js, used under its BSD licence.
Tips for Daily Chess
- Check every forcing move first: checks, captures and direct threats.
- Ask what the opponent's last move left undefended or attacked.
- Look for the patterns that decide most puzzles: forks, pins, skewers, discovered attacks and back-rank mates.
- When a puzzle says mate in two, count the opponent's possible replies before you commit.