What is Lichess Daily Puzzle?
Lichess is a free, open-source chess site run as a non-profit, and every day it picks one puzzle for everybody to solve. You see a position taken from a real game, and you have to find the strongest move, often a short combination that wins material or forces checkmate. If you play the right first move, the opponent replies and you continue until the idea is complete. The daily puzzle is usually chosen to be elegant or instructive rather than simply hard, so it is a nice way to keep your eye for tactics sharp without committing to a full game. There are no ads and you do not need an account, though signing in lets the site track your puzzle rating. You do need to know how the pieces move, but you do not need to be a strong player. It suits casual chess fans, people who learned the game long ago and want to get back into it, and anyone who enjoys the click of finding the one move that works.
How to play
- Look at the position. The board shows whose turn it is.
- Find the best move and play it on the board.
- If there is a follow-up, keep going until the combination is complete.
Quick facts
- Typical time
- 1–5 min
- Difficulty
- Varies · you need to know how the pieces move
- Price
- Free, with no ads and no account needed.
- Account
- Not needed. A free account tracks your puzzle rating.
- Past puzzles
- No archive of daily puzzles, but the site has endless free puzzles sorted by theme.
- On a phone
- In the browser, or in the free Lichess app.
- Want more?
- Lichess has an endless supply of free puzzles, sorted by theme.
Tips to get better
- Checks, captures, threats. Look at every check first, then every capture, then every threat. The answer is nearly always a move that forces a reply.
- Ask what's undefended. Find any piece that nothing protects, or a king with few squares to run to. Then look for a move that attacks two things at once.
- Don't take the first good move. A daily puzzle has a point. If your move just wins a pawn, there's probably something stronger.
- Find the best reply. Before you move, work out your opponent's strongest answer and check that your idea still works.
- Learn the names. After solving, look at which themes the puzzle was tagged with: fork, pin, skewer, back-rank mate. Recognising these patterns is most of chess tactics.
Who it's for
For anyone who knows the rules of chess and likes the click of finding the one move that works. One puzzle a day is a painless way to stay sharp, and Lichess is free in a way few sites are: no ads and nothing to buy. If you've never played chess, this isn't the place to start. Some daily puzzles are also hard enough to humble strong club players.
