Chess.com built its daily habit on one simple hook: a tactics puzzle that takes two minutes, ends in a checkmate, and resets the next day for everyone at once. We built Mate Finder, a free browser version of that same loop. Find the forced win, watch the checkmate land, come back tomorrow for a new one. No install, no signup, and it runs right here on this page.
Play Mate Finder now
Tap a piece, then tap the square you want to move it to. Best played with sound on.
How to play
The daily puzzle drops you into a real position and tells you how many moves it takes to force checkmate. Tap a piece to see its legal moves highlighted, then tap the destination square. Get it right and the game plays out to checkmate immediately. Get it wrong and the puzzle stops there, ready for an instant retry with the same position. You can also navigate the board with the arrow keys and select a square with Enter.
The position changes every day at midnight, generated from the date, so everyone sees the same puzzle on the same day. Your solve count and day streak are saved on this device. Nothing leaves your browser. Want a full game instead of a tactic? Switch to Quick play, pick Easy, Medium, or Hard, and play a complete game against a small on-device computer opponent, no clock, no rating, just chess.
How it compares to Chess.com
Mate Finder keeps the part of Chess.com that actually gets opened every day: a short tactical puzzle with a hard deadline of “find the move,” instant feedback, and a reason to open it again tomorrow. The daily seed works the same way, one puzzle, shared by everyone, refreshed at midnight. We also kept a lightweight full-game mode for anyone who wants more than one puzzle a day.
What we left out is everything that turns a chess app into a chess platform: no puzzle rating that climbs or drops, no lesson library, no live opponents, no clubs, no clock, and no account to lose your history if you clear your browser. Mate Finder is the puzzle habit stripped down to the board and the clock in your head. If you want puzzle ratings that track your progress over months, live games against other people, or structured lessons from a coach, Chess.com is the real product, and it deserves the install for that. What you get here is free, instant, and gone the moment you close the tab, which is exactly the point.
Get the full app
Chess.com’s “Chess - Play and Learn Online” is free to download on Android, with puzzles, live and correspondence games against other players, lessons, and a rating system that tracks your progress over time.
Frequently asked questions
Can I play Chess.com in a browser?
Chess.com’s app is distributed for Android and through its own website, not embedded here. What you can play right on this page is Mate Finder, our own daily puzzle and quick-play game built for the browser, inspired by the same tactics-puzzle habit.
Is this the real Chess.com?
No. Mate Finder is an original game we built, and it shares only the idea: a daily chess puzzle with a forced-mate solution and a simple computer opponent for full games. All of its code, board, and interface are our own. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Chess.com or its publisher.
Does the chess engine actually follow real rules?
Yes. Castling, en passant, pawn promotion, check, checkmate, and stalemate are all implemented and enforced, and every daily puzzle’s solution is verified by that same rules engine before it ever ships, not just typed in by hand.
Is Mate Finder free?
Completely. No ads, no accounts, no purchases. It is one small page that loads once and keeps working even if your connection drops.
Where are my streak and best score stored?
In your browser’s local storage, on your device. We do not run accounts or sync to a server, so your streak and stats never leave your browser. Clearing your browsing data resets them.
Do I get a new puzzle every day?
Yes. The puzzle is generated from today’s date, so it changes at midnight and everyone gets the same position that day. Solve it once to keep your streak alive, then switch to Quick play if you want more chess.
