Does it need an internet connection?

Yes — it reads a live source, so it needs a connection to update.

Yes — free, no download, in your browser.

What does the FEN actually encode?

The piece placement, the side to move, castling availability, any en-passant target square and two move counters. That is enough to recreate the exact position, though not the game that led to it.

What else does the Chess.com puzzle record contain?

Besides the FEN, the daily puzzle record has a title, a link to the puzzle page, an image, a publish time and a PGN of the puzzle. This saver draws the board from the FEN.

Chess Daily Puzzle Screensaver

The Chess Daily Puzzle screensaver shows the real daily chess puzzle from Chess.com's key-less public API, with the position drawn from its FEN on a proper board and whose move it is. It's free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.

How the Chess Daily Puzzle screensaver works

The saver reads Chess.com directly in your browser — no key and no account.

The real daily chess puzzle from Chess.com's key-less public API, with the position drawn from its FEN on a proper board and whose move it is..

It refreshes on a schedule, so what you see stays current.

Colours and the accent can be changed in settings; nothing is stored beyond your own browser.

Reading a puzzle from its FEN string

Chess.com publishes its daily puzzle through a public developer interface. The record includes the puzzle’s title, a link to its page, an image, a publish timestamp, a PGN and a string in Forsyth-Edwards Notation, usually shortened to FEN. The notation grew out of a system devised by the Scottish newspaper journalist David Forsyth in 1883, and Steven J. Edwards extended it in the 1990s so that computers could use it, as part of the Portable Game Notation standard.

A FEN string packs an entire position into one line of text with six fields. The first lists the pieces rank by rank from the eighth rank down to the first, with uppercase letters for White, lowercase for Black and digits for runs of empty squares. The remaining fields give whose move it is, which castling rights remain, any en-passant target square, a half-move clock for the fifty-move rule, and the full-move number. This saver converts the string into a board, which is why the side to move is shown as well.

The FEN gives only the position to be solved. The aim of a puzzle is to find the best continuation, often a forced checkmate or a material win, and a good puzzle has a single clear idea to spot, so the reward is the moment the pattern clicks.

A worked example

The real daily chess puzzle from Chess.com's key-less public API, with the position drawn from its FEN on a proper board and whose move it is.

Settings & tips

Accent and Background recolour the display.
Data comes straight from Chess.com in your browser.
Press ESC to leave fullscreen.

Frequently asked questions

Is this real data?: Yes — it comes from Chess.com and is refreshed on a schedule.
Is a key needed?: No. This source is fully key-less.
Does it need an internet connection?: Yes — it reads a live source, so it needs a connection to update.
Is it free?: Yes — free, no download, in your browser.
What does the FEN actually encode?: The piece placement, the side to move, castling availability, any en-passant target square and two move counters. That is enough to recreate the exact position, though not the game that led to it.
What else does the Chess.com puzzle record contain?: Besides the FEN, the daily puzzle record has a title, a link to the puzzle page, an image, a publish time and a PGN of the puzzle. This saver draws the board from the FEN.

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