Lichess Puzzle of the Day

About Lichess Puzzle of the Day

Lichess is a free, open-source chess site run by a non-profit and paid for by donations. Its puzzle section holds a large set of tactics cut from games played on the site, and one of them is shown each day as the Puzzle of the Day, on the home page, at lichess.org/training/daily and on the Puzzles tab of the app.

The daily puzzle is not chosen by hand. The site's open code picks it from the best-rated puzzles in its pool, in a rating band of about 2150 to 2300, that have already been played thousands of times and have not been the daily puzzle before; one-move puzzles are left out. So the daily puzzle is a tested position of medium to hard difficulty rather than one matched to your own rating. The page tells you which side is to move and shows how many players have tried it.

You play the moves on the board and the site plays the opponent's replies. A wrong move is marked and you can try again or view the solution. When the line is done you see the puzzle's rating and its themes, and you can vote on it, open the game it came from or carry on with more puzzles at your own level.

The Puzzle of the Day suits players who want one short, serious tactic a day without paying, seeing ads or signing up. Players who want the difficulty to follow their own level can continue into the rated puzzles, Puzzle Streak or Puzzle Storm from the same page.

How to play Lichess Puzzle of the Day

1. Open lichess.org/training/daily, the puzzle on the lichess.org home page, or the Puzzles tab in the Lichess app.
2. Read which side is to move; the board is turned so that side is at the bottom.
3. Find the best move and play it by dragging the piece or clicking it and then its square.
4. Wait for the reply the site plays, then find the next move.
5. Keep going until the line is complete, or ask to view the solution if you are stuck.
6. After solving, check the puzzle's rating and themes, vote on it, or continue with more puzzles.

Screenshots

Tips

• Before moving, list every check, capture and threat for both sides.
• The last move played is highlighted on the board; ask what it changed or allowed.
• The daily puzzle is drawn from puzzles rated about 2150 to 2300, so expect the first move to be less obvious than in easy sets.
• If the obvious capture fails, look for a quiet move or a check that sets it up.
• Open the source game afterwards to see how the players handled the position.

Questions