---
title: I wanted Lichess puzzles — but my way. So I built it.
description: I love Lichess puzzles — but I always wanted more control over my training. So I built a free, customizable tactics trainer with Lichess puzzles. Here's what it does.
image: https://image.lichess1.org/display?fmt=webp&h=550&op=thumbnail&path=YOIv6MWnrgsz.webp&w=880&sig=28c75a03a1bbfc842be56b4795f77e59bb619e79
---

## *§1 — The Problem*

*I've always enjoyed online tactics. Puzzle Storm is fun, Puzzle Streak is challenging. But at some point I started noticing that I wanted something a little different.*
*I wanted to skip the first puzzles in Puzzle Storm — they are far too easy. I wanted to set a different time limit, and control how many mistakes are allowed — or have no limit at all. I wanted to train only on specific motifs, combine them freely, and play through them in a time mode of my choosing. In short: I wanted to combine all these settings and make my training truly my own — more focused, more effective, and more fun.*
*Lichess puzzles are excellent. But they offer little control over how a session is structured — and that's exactly what I kept missing.*
*So I built something.*

## §2 — What I Built

*Personal Puzzles is a free puzzle trainer built around one idea: no fixed settings, no artificial limitations — just your puzzle session, the way you want it. The puzzles come from the Lichess database — 50,000 of them, selected by quality.*
*The result is a web app that runs in any browser. You can try it now at [guidogoessling.github.io/personal-puzzles](https://guidogoessling.github.io/personal-puzzles) or on my club's site at [bielefeldersk.de/personalpuzzles](https://www.bielefeldersk.de/personalpuzzles). The source code is on [GitHub](https://github.com/guidogoessling/personal-puzzles).*
*The name says it all: everything is personal.*

## §3 — Train Your Way

*This is where Personal Puzzles differs. Before a session starts, you choose how it works — not just one mode, but the full structure of your training session.*
*The most important settings: your starting rating and how fast it increases, your time limit, and how many mistakes you allow yourself. Want a calm unlimited session to explore endgame motifs? Done. Want a fast round that starts easy and climbs fast? Also done.*

![BlogPPSettings.jpg](https://image.lichess1.org/display?op=noop&path=vKY0f1woxeuH.jpg&sig=13125124dd7778b813b0b55e0859fec5857a40fc)

| Setting | Options |
| ------- | ------- |
| Time limit | 1 / 3 / 5 / 10 min / Unlimited / Custom |
| Starting rating | 600 – 3000 / Custom |
| Rating increase | None / +10 / +15 / +25 / +50 per puzzle / Custom |
| Max mistakes | 1 / 3 / 5 / Unlimited / Custom |
| Bonus time | 0 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 5 s per correct move |
| On mistake | Try again / Next Puzzle |
| Color | Mixed / White / Black / Random |
| Piece count | Dual range slider (3–32 pieces on the board) |
| Hints | Motif / Piece / All / None |
| Show rating | On / Off |
| Language | English / German |

*Most main settings have a 'Custom' option — so you're never stuck with the presets. Your settings are saved automatically and restored the next time you open the app.*
*A concrete example: I often train with 5 minutes, starting at 1800, an increase of +25 per puzzle, and a maximum of 3 mistakes. That gives me a session with a clear end, a real challenge, and just enough pressure to stay focused.*
*One thing you'll notice: there's no persistent rating. With so many settings, a single rating number would be meaningless anyway — but there's a second reason. As a coach I've heard 'I'm not doing puzzles right now, I don't want to ruin my rating' more often than I'd like. Extrinsic motivation is a double-edged sword. Personal Puzzles does give you a performance rating after each session — an Elo-based score that accounts for puzzle difficulty, time spent, and hints used. Useful for comparing your own sessions, without the pressure of a number that follows you around.*

## *§4 — The Theme Filter*

*The theme filter turns Personal Puzzles into a proper training tool — not just a puzzle stream, but a targeted session on exactly the motifs you want to work on.*
![BlogPPThemefilter.jpg](https://image.lichess1.org/display?op=noop&path=Eb7rZfxV2K-J.jpg&sig=68a565d9b233d47955ef3c8205943b7b0f7bdd9b)
*There are 74 themes organized in categories like Game Phases, Tactical Motifs, Checkmate Goals, Checkmate Patterns, and more. You can train these themes in any time format.*
*In Personal Puzzles you can not only select a theme, you can select any combination of themes — and here's where it gets interesting: you choose the logic.*
*OR logic (At least one theme) means any puzzle containing at least one of them will appear. AND logic (All themes) means every puzzle must contain all selected motifs.*
*Want to practice mates in 2 and mates in 3 together? OR. Want to study sacrifices in rook endgames? AND. The AND logic in particular opens up endless training possibilities.*
*All themes can be combined with a filter for the number of pieces on the board.*
*The tactical motifs are sorted by their frequency in the Lichess puzzle database — so you always know how common or rare a motif actually is.*
*I also reworked the mate themes. It might be interesting from a chess culture standpoint to know the difference between a "Pillsbury's mate" and an "Opera mate" — but in the end, both are mates with a rook and bishop. Personal Puzzles doesn't use historic names for checkmate patterns. Instead it describes which pieces deliver the mate — in my opinion far more useful for learning.*
*I haven't found a comparable level of filter control on any other platform. — it's the feature most useful for players and coaches.*

## *§5 — Review*

*Solving puzzles is one thing. Learning from them is another. The review mode in Personal Puzzles is designed to make that second step as useful as possible.*
*After a session, all solved puzzles appear in a grid — one card per puzzle, shown from your perspective. You can filter by result (correct / incorrect) and sort by puzzle number, rating, time spent, or number of attempts. The puzzles you struggled with are easy to find.*

![BlogPPgrid2.jpg](https://image.lichess1.org/display?op=noop&path=EgB-a2uAIX8A.jpg&sig=df92e119d79750818bc7267c52434c3a92b07e76)

*Each puzzle can be opened for a closer look. You can try to solve it again, step through the solution move by move, analyze the position freely on the board or use Stockfish.*

![BlogPPreview2.jpg](https://image.lichess1.org/display?op=noop&path=fg-yX_06PLbd.jpg&sig=74f4ec437327acc4a535aba7f1fea2e1831b4399)

## §6 — Sound

*One idea I had long before Personal Puzzles existed: what if chess moves sounded different depending on what was happening on the board?*
*Not just the same sound for every move — but a sound that adapts. A pawn sounds lighter and higher than a queen. A move across the whole board sounds longer than a one-square step. A capture has its own character. A knight move — well, a knight doesn't slide, it jumps.*
*Personal Puzzles has a sound engine built around this idea. It uses real recorded wood samples as a base, then adapts them: pitch and volume vary by piece weight, duration varies by move distance — like in a game with real wooden pieces.*

## *§7 — For your use*

*Personal Puzzles has no login, no account, and no registration. It can be used online, but it is a single HTML file — it can be saved locally and used completely offline. Your club can host it on their website, or simply open it on a laptop at the training table. No internet connection required during the session.*
*If you want to use your own puzzles, that is also possible. Positions can be added by by editing the embedded puzzle list directly — useful if you want to work on specific positions.*
*The source code is available on [GitHub](https://github.com/guidogoessling/personal-puzzles) under the MIT license — free to use, free to modify, free to share. Feedback and contributions are very welcome.*

## *§8 — Things to improve*

*Personal Puzzles is a work in progress. There are features I'm happy with, but not everything is perfect.*
*The sound engine works — but it's an experiment.*
*On the visual side: board colors and piece sets are fixed for now.*
*If any of this sounds like something you'd like to help with — or if you have other ideas for improvements or new features — the project is open source and contributions are very welcome.*

## §9 — Thanks and Links

*Personal Puzzles would not exist without Lichess. The puzzle database is CC0 — free for everyone to use, build on, and share. That openness made this project possible. Thank you to the whole Lichess team and community.*
*Try it, share it, or just let me know what you think.*
*▶ Play: [guidogoessling.github.io/personal-puzzles](https://guidogoessling.github.io/personal-puzzles)*
*▶ Club site: [bielefeldersk.de/personalpuzzles](https://www.bielefeldersk.de/personalpuzzles)*
*▶ GitHub: [github.com/guidogoessling/personal-puzzles](https://github.com/guidogoessling/personal-puzzles)*