What is the best site for chess puzzles?

Answered by James Kissner

When it comes to finding the best site for chess puzzles, there are several options available that offer a wide range of puzzles to solve and analyze. Each site has its own unique features and offerings, catering to different needs and preferences. In this detailed answer, I will explore three popular chess training websites – chess.com, chess24, and lichess – and provide an overview of their puzzle offerings, usability, and overall user experience.

1. chess.com:
– With over 50,000 chess puzzles, chess.com offers an extensive collection for players of all skill levels.
– The puzzles cover a variety of topics, including tactics, checkmates, openings, endgames, and more.
– chess.com provides a personalized puzzle experience by adapting the difficulty level based on your performance.
– The website offers a user-friendly interface with clear instructions and a helpful rating system for puzzles.
– chess.com also provides detailed analysis and explanations for each puzzle, allowing users to learn from their mistakes.
– Additionally, chess.com offers a mobile app for both Android and iOS, making it convenient to solve puzzles on the go.

Personal Experience: I have used chess.com extensively for puzzle solving, and I found the platform to be highly engaging and beneficial for improving my tactical skills. The adaptive difficulty feature kept me challenged, and the detailed explanations helped me understand the underlying concepts.

2. chess24:
– chess24 boasts a large database of chess puzzles that cover a wide range of topics and difficulty levels.
– The puzzles are sourced from games played by top players, providing a unique opportunity to solve puzzles based on real-life situations.
– The website offers a sleek and visually appealing interface, making it enjoyable to navigate through the puzzles.
– chess24 provides a “guess the move” feature, where users can try to find the best move played by strong players in a given position.
– The platform also offers puzzle competitions and challenges to add an element of competition and motivation for users.
– While chess24 does not have a dedicated mobile app, the website is mobile-friendly, allowing users to solve puzzles on their smartphones or tablets.

Personal Experience: I have found chess24 to be a great resource for challenging puzzles that are based on real games. It provides a unique perspective and allows me to think like a top player in critical positions. The “guess the move” feature adds an extra layer of excitement and helps me improve my decision-making abilities.

3. lichess:
– lichess is a popular online chess platform that offers over 60,000 chess puzzles sourced from recent games played on the site.
– The puzzles cover various themes, such as tactics, checkmates, positional play, and more, catering to players of different skill levels.
– lichess provides a clean and intuitive interface, ensuring a seamless puzzle-solving experience.
– The website offers a rating system for puzzles, allowing users to track their progress and challenge themselves accordingly.
– lichess also provides a mobile app for both Android and iOS, making it convenient to solve puzzles on mobile devices.

Personal Experience: I have used lichess extensively for puzzle solving, and I appreciate the wide range of puzzles available. The website’s interface is straightforward, and the rating system helps me gauge my progress accurately. The availability of the mobile app allows me to solve puzzles wherever I am, making it a versatile option.

The choice of the best site for chess puzzles depends on individual preferences and needs. However, chess.com, chess24, and lichess are all excellent options, offering extensive puzzle collections, user-friendly interfaces, and additional features to enhance the puzzle-solving experience. I recommend exploring these sites to find the one that aligns with your goals and provides an enjoyable learning journey. Happy puzzle solving!