What is ChessUnlock used for?

ChessUnlock is a macOS app that shows a chess puzzle each time you wake or unlock your Mac, building a daily tactics habit with an adaptive rating. It is a good fit for building a daily chess habit without scheduling it and improving tactical pattern recognition in short bursts.

How much does ChessUnlock cost?

ChessUnlock is a paid product with no free plan.

Is ChessUnlock open source?

No. ChessUnlock is proprietary (closed-source) software. In the Games & Emulation category, open-source options include Lichess, Stockfish and Sunshine.

What are some alternatives to ChessUnlock?

ChessUnlock competes with Chess.com.

ChessUnlock: features, pricing and alternatives

About ChessUnlock

ChessUnlock is a Mac app that turns unlocking your computer into chess practice. Instead of going straight to the desktop, you see a fullscreen tactic and must find the winning move before continuing. The idea is to attach practice to something you already do many times a day, so no extra motivation is needed.

Puzzles come from a large library of Lichess tactics and are matched to an adaptive Elo-style rating, so they stay challenging without becoming impossible. A typical puzzle takes only a few seconds, and the app tracks your rating over time and your streaks so you can see progress.

ChessUnlock is a native macOS application distributed from its own website, with a free trial and a paid license sold separately. Prices are not given in the scraped page, and the product has no server component to self-host.

Key features

Fullscreen chess puzzle on every Mac unlock
Tactics sourced from the Lichess puzzle library
Adaptive rating that tunes puzzle difficulty
Streak and rating tracking
Short puzzles that take seconds to solve

Good fit for

→Building a daily chess habit without scheduling it
→Improving tactical pattern recognition in short bursts

Tags: chess; puzzles; macos; habit-building; tactics; lichess

ChessUnlock: questions and answers

What is ChessUnlock used for?: ChessUnlock is a macOS app that shows a chess puzzle each time you wake or unlock your Mac, building a daily tactics habit with an adaptive rating. It is a good fit for building a daily chess habit without scheduling it and improving tactical pattern recognition in short bursts.
How much does ChessUnlock cost?: ChessUnlock is a paid product with no free plan.
Is ChessUnlock open source?: No. ChessUnlock is proprietary (closed-source) software. In the Games & Emulation category, open-source options include Lichess, Stockfish and Sunshine.
What are some alternatives to ChessUnlock?: ChessUnlock competes with Chess.com.