FAQ

macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Runs natively on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

You should know the basics - how pieces move and what checkmate means. ChessUnlock starts at 600 Elo and adapts. It's built for anyone from beginner to advanced who wants to get sharper.

Yes. Hold the skip button for under a second and you're through. Your streak resets, but your rating isn't heavily penalized. You can also set quiet hours when no puzzles appear.

ChessUnlock uses an Elo rating system. Solve cleanly and your rating goes up. Fail or use hints and it adjusts down. Puzzles are selected near your current rating so they're always challenging but solvable.

No. It's a lightweight menu bar app that uses virtually zero resources when idle. The puzzle database is local - no network requests needed. It launches on login and stays silent until you wake your Mac.

Yes. All your personal data - rating, streaks, history, puzzles - stays on your Mac and never leaves it. There are no accounts. We use PostHog to capture a small set of anonymous product events (e.g. "puzzle solved", "app launched") so we can improve the app; person profiles are disabled and IPs are stripped, so no personal data is ever sent off your device.

Yes. Email within 30 days for a full refund, no questions asked.

By default, every wake. You can configure a cooldown - for example, one puzzle every 3rd unlock - so it fits your rhythm without being intrusive.