Chess Puzzles

A new forced mate every day. Find the win in one, two or three moves — wrong moves are refused, so you have to actually see it.

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<div style="position:relative;width:100%;aspect-ratio:16/10">
  <iframe src="https://www.gamedavinci.com/embed/chess-puzzles/" title="Chess Puzzles"
    style="position:absolute;inset:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0"
    allow="fullscreen; autoplay; gamepad" loading="lazy"></iframe>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.gamedavinci.com/game/chess-puzzles/">Chess Puzzles</a> by <a href="https://www.gamedavinci.com/">GameDavinci</a></p>

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Daily challenge

Chess Puzzles serves one puzzle a day, generated from the calendar date — so the board you play is the same board every other player gets. Solve it before the day is out to extend your streak. Your stats stay in this browser; there is nothing to sign up for.

Next puzzle in under 24 hours . See all daily challenges →

About this game

One chess puzzle a day, and the same rule every time: White to play, and there is a forced mate. Your job is to find it. Play the move on the board and the position tells you straight away whether you were right — a move that lets Black wriggle out is refused with a reason rather than quietly played, because a tactic you can shuffle your way through is not a tactic. Get the key move right and Black answers with its most stubborn defence, and you have to finish the job. Every puzzle is checked before it ever reaches you. The position is composed, then an exact mate search — not an engine's opinion, an exhaustive proof — confirms three things: the mate really is forced in the number of moves promised, the first move is the only one that works, and every single legal defence Black has is answered. That last point is the one most puzzle sets quietly skip. Whatever Black tries, there is a continuation, and you will not hit a dead end because the composer only looked at the main line. The daily puzzle is the same for everybody and rotates through a set of 380, ramping from mate in one at the start of the week to mate in three by the end, and your streak counts consecutive days solved. Alongside it there is Practice: unlimited puzzles at whichever depth you fancy, easy, medium or hard, which never touches your daily record. Two hints are on hand if you want them — the first names the piece, the second the square — and a full solution if you would rather just see it. Tap or drag the pieces, or play the whole thing from the keyboard.

Controls

Tap a piece then a highlighted square, or drag it.

Keyboard

Arrow keys move the cursor, Enter picks up and places, Escape cancels.
H for a hint, R to reset the position.

How to play

White is to move and there is a forced checkmate — the pill at the top tells you in how many moves. Find the one first move that forces it.

Solving

If you play something else it is refused and counts as a miss, so the position never drifts off the solution.
After a correct move Black replies with its best defence and you continue until mate.
Every legal defence has an answer, so if a reply surprises you, look again rather than assuming the puzzle is broken.

Hints and modes

Two hints are available: the first tells you which piece to move, the second where it goes.
Solve the daily puzzle to keep your streak alive, or switch to Practice for unlimited puzzles at a difficulty you pick.

Read the full Chess Puzzles rules and strategy →