Open Challenges on Chess.com
An open challenge is a game request from another member that hasn’t been accepted yet. You can browse and accept these challenges to quickly start a game.
How to view Open Challenges
Hover over ‘Play’ from the left-hand menu of any Chess.com page, and click ‘Play’ from the list.
On the New Game screen, click on the ‘Custom’ dropdown.
Click on the ‘Open Challenges’ tab.
Here you can view open challenges in two formats:
List View
|
Charts View |
Displays the information in a list format. Each entry includes details like time control and rating range.
 | Displays a graph of open challenges by game type—take a look below the chart to see what each icon represents
 |
Use the toggles under the 'Open Challenges' tab to filter Premium users only, or to hide variant games (variant filter is only available in Chart view).
How to accept Open Challenges - Live Games
The way you accept an open challenge depends on how you’re viewing them. Keep in mind that taking any of the actions below will immediately start the game:
In list view: Click the ‘Play’ button next to the game you want to join.
In chart view: Click on any of the game icons.
How to accept Open Challenges - Daily Games
For Daily challenges, clicking the icon or ‘Play’ will open a details window where you can review more information before accepting:
Opponent’s rating and record
Whether you’ve played them before
Average move time
Timeout percentage
You can use this information to decide whether you want to accept the challenge—but act fast! Open challenges are claimed quickly.
If you see a message saying the challenge is no longer available, it means someone else accepted the game before you could.