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Chess tactics,
a few minutes a day

9. Qd8+ Réti–Tartakower, Vienna 1910

Reflex Chess is a free tactics trainer for beginners and improvers. 87 skills and 10,440 puzzles rated 400 to 2800, from spotting your first checkmate to winning a rook endgame — in lessons short enough to finish while the kettle boils. No ads, no subscription, and it works offline once it has loaded.

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87skills
10,440puzzles
400–2800Elo covered

One lesson, three parts

  1. 1Watch the mistakeEvery puzzle opens by playing the blunder that made it winnable. You see why the move is there before you are asked to look for it, which is the difference between learning a pattern and guessing at one.
  2. 2Find the moveOne move, played on a real board. A hint if you want one, and a worked example of the same motif if you need to see it done first.
  3. 3Come back tomorrowTen minutes is a session. A streak worth keeping, a daily goal you set yourself, and new skills that open as you finish the ones before them.

What is in the course

16 units, 87 skills, 10,440 positions. The spine runs from mate in one to endgames; the branches are opening lines you can take in any order once you have earned them.

The Course

  • First MovesFind the mate in one. The gentlest real chess there is.3 skills · 360 puzzles
  • TacticsThe four patterns that decide most games under 1500.4 skills · 480 puzzles
  • Checkmate PatternsFinish the game. Shapes you will see for the rest of your life.5 skills · 600 puzzles
  • Sharper TacticsWhere the move that wins is not the move that looks active.6 skills · 720 puzzles
  • Sacrifices and Quiet MovesGive something up, or do nothing at all, and win anyway.5 skills · 600 puzzles
  • EndgamesFewer pieces, no hiding. This is where rating comes from.6 skills · 720 puzzles
  • AttackingPointing every piece at one king.4 skills · 480 puzzles
  • OpeningsTraps and tactics from the positions you actually reach.16 skills · 1,920 puzzles

The Gauntlet

  • Blind SpotsNobody tells you what the pattern is. That is the point.2 skills · 240 puzzles
  • The LadderFour rungs, 1200 to 2400. Climb until it stops being fun.4 skills · 480 puzzles

Repertoire

  • Open Games1.e4 e5, and the fight over f7 that starts on move three.5 skills · 600 puzzles
  • Ruy Lopez LinesThe oldest argument in chess: one bishop against one knight.3 skills · 360 puzzles
  • Sicilian SystemsNine ways the game goes after 1...c5. Anti-Sicilians first.9 skills · 1,080 puzzles
  • French VariationsLocked pawns, one bad bishop, and a chain with a base to hit.5 skills · 600 puzzles
  • Caro-Kann VariationsThe solid answer to 1.e4, and the bishop that gets out first.3 skills · 360 puzzles
  • Sidelines and SurprisesGambits that should not work and win games every day.7 skills · 840 puzzles

Where do you want to start?

Start the courseContinue the course
Reflex RushBeat the clock. Sixteen modes, free, no account.CompeteRated games on a clock, fifteen-puzzle duels and a leaderboard.What’s my rating?Twelve puzzles, one honest estimate of your tactical strength.Just show me the appStraight to the course map.

Read instead of play

The written half of the site. None of it needs an account and none of it needs JavaScript.

Motif guidesEvery tactic in the course, explained in writingRules and termsHow each piece moves, and what the words meanBasic checkmatesRook, queen, two bishops, bishop and knightCheckmate patternsThe named mates and the geometry behind eachHow to improveWhat actually decides games at your ratingChess for kidsPrintable sheets and how to run a school clubPrintable worksheetsFree puzzle sheets with answer keysPlay a friendOne link. They need no accountReview a gamePaste a game, find the tactic to practise nextDaily puzzleOne position a day, the same for everyonePlay and competeHow the rating, the duel and the clock workBooksKindle books by the person who built this

Chess pieces by Colin M. L. Burnett, CC BY-SA 3.0.