White to play and draw. Every first move but one gets you mated, and you have 4 moves to reach the draw. There is no take-back.
About Swindle
Swindle is a free daily chess puzzle from Mind Loft with a twist on the usual one: you are White, you are lost, and your job is to save half a point. A draw comes three ways. Stalemate is when the side to move has no legal move and is not in check. A perpetual check keeps checking the king until the same position appears a third time, which is a draw by repetition. And if so little is left that nobody could ever checkmate, the game is drawn on the spot.
On every board exactly one first move forces the draw, and every other legal first move loses to a forced mate within three, checked by two independent chess programs. Tap a piece and its legal squares light up, so you never need chess notation. Then play it out: Black defends on its own and tries hard to dodge the draw, and you have a fixed number of moves to reach it. Any legal move can be played and none of them are taken back.
A new position drops every day at midnight Eastern, the week runs from a one-move stalemate on Monday to longer perpetuals and traps by Saturday, and the Sunday Edition is the deepest draw of the week. No app, no signup, play free in your browser, keep a streak, and race the daily leaderboard. More chess: Mate, the attacking side of the board, and Defend, the one move that survives.
Swindle, in short
How do you play Swindle?
You are White and badly lost. One move saves a draw by stalemate, perpetual check, threefold repetition or bare kings; every other move gets mated.
Is Swindle free to play?
Yes. Swindle is free to play in your browser on Mind Loft, with no app to install and no account required.
When does a new Swindle puzzle come out?
A new Swindle arrives every day at midnight Eastern time, and Sundays bring the Sunday Edition, the biggest or hardest board of the week.
What kind of puzzle is Swindle?
Swindle is a daily endgame puzzle from Mind Loft: white to play and draw. Puzzle type: chess: swindle a draw. It is part of the daily chess puzzles lineup.
Can I play past Swindle puzzles?
Yes. Every past Swindle board is in the puzzle archive, a tap away by day.
What other daily chess puzzles does Mind Loft have?